(adj) (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early, Syn. earliest, Example:a fashion popular in earlier times; his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher; Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera
[春秋, chūn qiūㄔㄨㄣ ㄑㄧㄡ] spring and autumn; four seasons; the year; a person's age; Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), with many states contending for hegemony; Spring and Autumn Annals, chronicle of Lu State 722-481 BC, the earliest surviving Chinese history in the form of a, See Also: 五經, 五经#7093
[三皇五帝, sān huáng wǔ dìㄙㄢ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄨˇ ㄉㄧˋ] three sovereigns 三皇 and five emperors 五帝 of myth and legend; the earliest system of Chinese historiography, See Also: 三皇, 五帝#91298
[tomo] (prt) (1) certainly; of course; to be sure; surely; (2) even if; no matter (who, what, when, where, why, how); though; although; (3) (with neg. verb) without even; without so much as; (4) (after an adverb) (See 遅くとも) at the (least, earliest, etc.); (5) (sometimes esp. an emphatic form of the particle と) (See と・1, と・2, と・3, と・4) emphatic particle; (P)#841