early-term

IPA/ˌɜː.liˈtɜːm/
IPA/ˌɝː.liˈtɝːm/

early-term — adjective

1. taking place during the first stage of something that lasts for a set period, su

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

taking place during the first stage of something that lasts for a set period, such as a pregnancy, an illness, or a leader's time in office

Example

The doctor told Meera that early-term morning sickness usually fades after a few weeks.

early-term + noun (attributive only)

An early-term scan can show whether the baby's heart is beating normally.

collocation: early-term scan / screening

Common collocations
  • early-term pregnancy
  • early-term scan
  • early-term diagnosis
  • early-term abortion
Synonyms
  • early-stage

    wider; fits diseases and projects, not just fixed-length periods

  • initial

    more general and less technical; any beginning

Antonyms
  • late-term

    near the end of the same fixed period

  • full-term

    having reached the natural end, especially of a pregnancy

Grammar Patterns

early-term + noun

Usage Note

Used only before a noun (attributive), never after a verb like 'be'. Most common in medical contexts about pregnancy, but also describes the opening phase of an illness or an official's time in power.

Common Mistakes

The pregnancy is early-term.
It is an early-term pregnancy.
'early-term' goes before the noun, not after 'be'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three point to the opening part of something, but they differ in scope. 'Early-term' is the most specific: it describes the first part of a fixed-length stretch of time, above all a pregnancy, and also a leader's time in office or the opening of an illness. 'Early-stage' is broader — it suits anything that grows through clear phases, such as a disease, a company, or a research project, and does not need a set end point. 'Initial' is the most general and least technical word; it simply marks whatever comes first, as in 'initial reaction' or 'initial cost'. So you would say 'an early-term pregnancy', 'an early-stage start-up', and 'an initial guess', and these would rarely swap places without sounding odd.

early-term ↗early-stage ↗initial ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • early-term pregnancy
  • early-term diagnosis

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

A modern compound formed from 'early', meaning near the beginning, and 'term', which here keeps its sense of a fixed length of time — the same 'term' used for a pregnancy or a period in office. The word 'term' came into English through French from Latin 'terminus', meaning a boundary or limit. Joined together, the pair labels the opening part of such a fixed period.