early vs onward

early

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. 

adj
  • 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. 

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

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

onward

adv
  • In a forward direction. 

adj
  • Moving forward. 

  • Advanced in a forward direction or toward an end. 

verb
  • To keep going; to progress or persevere. 

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