A Rose By Any Other Name, Wouldn't Be My Rose

from Erin's Weird and Wonderful Word of the Day at OxfordUniversity Press online:

"macushla
an affectionate form of address, used in Irish English. It comes from the Irish words mo, meaning 'my,' and cuisle, 'pulse'; a similar Irish word is acushla, from the phrase a chuisle (moi chroi), 'O pulse (of my heart)! "

This term of endearment is on my favorite word list. Ever since I discovered it last summer, I've said it to myself, shared it with others then contemplated it again in wonder. To call someone the pulse of your heart, the very source of its beating--not the after sound or sensation, as in heart throb, but its very source...
Wow, it gets me every time, macushla, that's love.