The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word ERAS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
E
R
A
S
More clues leading to the result ERAS
- Times leads with “Expect riots after secession”
- Times editors regularly attack socialist leaders
- Times to strike out, launching enterprise finally
- Periods in history are brought up by son
- Times? European, and impetuous for the most part
- Schoolmaster assists only some of these characters in periods
- Queen since many a year
- Darwin’s first four geological periods
- Deliver a sermon, taking ages
- Times when following queen
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Periods in history" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case periods in history = eras.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 ERAS mean?
ERAS noun- A time period of indeterminate length, generally more than one year.
- A unit of time, smaller than eons and greater than periods.