In the western United States, one who settles on government land before it is legally open to settlement in order to gain the prior claim that the law gives to the first settler when the land is opened to settlement; hence, any one who does a thing prematurely or anticipates another in acting in order to gain an unfair advantage.
source: Webster 1913
adverb
comparatives of `soon' or `early'
Come a little sooner, if you can. Came earlier than I expected.
source: WordNet 3.0
more readily or willingly
Clean it well, preferably with warm water. I'd rather be in Philadelphia. I'd sooner die than give up.
