prematurelyadv.

1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. I. iii. 100 Having prematurely [It. prematuramente] obtained the priviledge of being man, and freed himselfe from the superintendencie of others, he was at his owne disposall.

1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 189 When Nurses prematurely, and without regard, commit weaker Infants to their Feet.

1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. ii. 136 Man's Wisdom..would have rushed forward upon it prematurely.

1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman iii. 85 An improper education has, by heating the imagination, called it forth prematurely.

1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. II. 216 Ascham..died prematurely.

1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) ii. 39 Taking care not to exhaust the interest of your audience prematurely.

1925 E. Walrond Drought in New Age (London) 8 Oct. 274/2 Ripening prematurely, breadfruits fell swiftly on the hard, dry soil, good only for fritters.

1967 A. Djoleto Strange Man i. 13 He was retired prematurely from the civil service because of his outspokenness.

1990 J. Dunn Very Close Conspiracy i. 33 Julia Stephen died prematurely and unexpectedly at forty-nine.

1812 Medico-chirurg. Trans. 3 137 I have however now before me, a list of seventy-eight labours occurring prematurely, either from the spontaneous action of the womb, or from accidental violence.

1860 J. L. Krapf Trav. E. Afr. i. viii. 109 My beloved wife was prematurely delivered of a little daughter.

1902 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 17 May 1197/2 The frequency of gastro-intestinal disorders in the prematurely born.

1990 J. Hamilton Rackham iii. 72 Edyth became pregnant soon after the couple were married, but the baby, a girl, was stillborn prematurely in March 1904.