The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word DAWN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
D
A
W
N
More clues leading to the result DAWN
- Begin to appear, waving wand
- Sunrise sketched, right away
- Start passing over new bundle
- Regulars leave drab wine when night is over
- This will break with martial artist coming round
- Begin to appear tense right away
- Bird new to this chorus
- Desperate fellow going out with Aurora
- It develops in the east and breaks round the west
- Bird takes direction at first light
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does DAWN mean?
DAWN noun- The morning twilight period immediately before sunrise.
- The rising of the sun.
- The time when the sun rises.
- The earliest phase of something.
- To begin to brighten with daylight.
- To start to appear or be realized.
- To begin to give promise; to begin to appear or to expand.