vorzeitig
Translation
premature, early, untimely
Examples
Er ging in den vorzeitigen Ruhestand.
He went into early retirement.
Die vorzeitige Abreise war unerwartet.
The premature departure was unexpected.
Eine vorzeitige Kündigung ist möglich.
An early termination is possible.
Grammar Patterns
((attributive)) premature, early He went into early retirement.
((adverbial)) prematurely, early He terminated the contract early.
Similar Words
frühzeitig (early), verfrüht (premature); Antonyms: verspätet (late), nachträglich (subsequent)
Etymology
Made up of 'vor' (before) + 'Zeit' (time) + the adjective ending '-ig'. Its literal meaning is 'before-time-ly'.
Memory Tips
Think of the components: 'vor' means 'before' and 'Zeit' means 'time'. So, 'vorzeitig' logically means 'before the proper time'.