Long period before November (5)
I believe the answer is:
yearn
'long' is the definition.
(I know that long can be written as yearn)
'period before november' is the wordplay.
'period' becomes 'year' (year is a kind of period).
'before' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'november' becomes 'N' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'year'+'n'='YEARN'
(Other definitions for yearn that I've seen before include "Hanker" , "Have an intense feeling of longing" , "Curdle" , "Mark of injury" , "Long - pine" .)