early vs last

early

adv
  • Soon; in good time; seasonably. 

  • At a time before expected; sooner than usual. 

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. 

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

last

adv
  • Most recently. 

  • after everything else; finally 

adj
  • Being the only one remaining of its class. 

  • Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely, or least preferable. 

  • Supreme; highest in degree; utmost. 

  • Lowest in rank or degree. 

  • Most recent, latest, last so far. 

  • Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind. 

det
  • The (one) immediately before the present. 

  • Closest in the past, or closest but one if the closest was very recent; of days, sometimes thought to specifically refer to the instance closest to seven days (one week) ago, or the most recent instance before seven days (one week) ago. 

noun
  • A tool for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes. 

  • A load of some commodity with reference to its weight and commercial value. 

verb
  • To hold out, continue undefeated or entire. 

  • To shape with a last; to fasten or fit to a last; to place smoothly on a last. 

  • To endure, continue over time. 

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