early vs incident

early

adj
  • Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time. 

  • Near the start or beginning. 

  • Near the start of the day. 

  • Having begun to occur; in its early stages. 

  • At a time in advance of the usual or expected event. 

  • Of a star or class of stars, hotter than the sun. 

adv
  • At a time before expected; sooner than usual. 

  • Soon; in good time; seasonably. 

noun
  • A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day. 

incident

adj
  • Coming or happening accidentally; not in the usual course of things; not in connection with the main design; not according to expectation; casual; fortuitous. 

  • Dependent upon, or appertaining to, another thing, called the principal. 

  • Liable to happen; apt to occur; befalling; hence, naturally happening or appertaining. 

  • Arising as the result of an event, inherent. 

  • Falling on or striking a surface. 

noun
  • An event that causes or may cause an interruption or a crisis, such as a workplace illness or a software error. 

  • A (relatively minor) event that is incidental to, or related to others. 

  • An event or occurrence. 

How often have the words early and incident occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )