earliest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of early.

   The earliest records of the town date back to the 1600s.

   Her earliest paintings already showed remarkable skill.

   Note

   The adjective compares with -est rather than with most, and the y of early turns to i before the ending. It usually points to the start of a period: the earliest records, the earliest events on record. Two constructions are worth knowing. At the earliest closes a clause and sets a lower limit on time, and the earliest can stand alone as a noun phrase: the earliest I can get there is Monday.

   We can start on Monday at the earliest.

   The earliest she can arrive is noon.

2. 2
   adverb

   Superlative of early.

   Among the guests, the grandparents arrived earliest and helped set the table.

   The flowers that bloom earliest are the most vulnerable to a late frost.

   Note

   Early needs no -ly to work as an adverb, so the adjective's superlative serves here unchanged. Only its job differs. Here it modifies a verb and tends to follow it: the guests arrived earliest, the flowers bloom earliest. To tell it from the adjective, ask what it describes. With the earliest guests it describes a noun. With the guests who came earliest it describes an action.

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