Essentially gifted and advanced (4)
I believe the answer is:
lent
'advanced' is the definition.
(advance can mean to lend)
'essentially gifted' is the wordplay.
'essentially' says to take the centre.
'gifted' becomes 'talented' (synonyms).
The middle letters of 'talented' are 'LENT'.
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for lent that I've seen before include "From Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday" , "Provided loans" , "Fast time" , "Christian penitential period" , "Period from Ash Wednesday to Easter" .)