early

early morning/afternoon/evening

 early spring/summer etc early August/January etc

in the early days/months/years (=in the beginning)

 in your early twenties/forties/seventies etc (=aged 20-23, 40-43, 70-73 etc)

the early 1920s/1980s/90s etc (=1920-1923, 1980-1983, 1990-1993 etc)

 as early as =used for emphasizing an early time

the early stages/part of something

somebody's early life/childhood/adolescence etc somebody's early songs/books/work etc

 somebody's early memories =the things someone remembers from when they were very young

early signs/indications