Early American

American  

adjective

1. (of furniture, buildings, utensils, etc.) built or made in the U.S. in the colonial period or somewhat later.

2. built or made in imitation of works of this period.

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Etymology

Origin of Early American

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Early American communication was slow, with news of the 1775 Battle of Lexington taking over a month to reach London.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Early American women were subject to laws steeped in coverture’s assumptions of gendered inequality, and these restrictions continued long after the United States won its independence from Britain.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2024

The Brownstone Boys wiped Varathane Early American stain onto their chair with cheesecloth.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024

Similar revelations abound in “Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North,” a vitally important, deeply moving show currently at the American Folk Art Museum.

From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2023

Row after row of black Early American benches spread emptily back through the shadows to long, vague windows.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles