at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time | not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered |
of an early stage in the development of a language or literature | unaffected by use or exposure |
being or occurring at an early stage of development | (of crops) harvested at an early stage of development; before complete maturity |
belonging to the distant past | lacking training or experience |
very young | original and of a kind not seen before |
expected in the near future | other than the former one(s); different |
| (often followed by `to') unfamiliar |
| having no previous example or precedent or parallel |