Systyle

n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to contract; sy`n with + &unr_; to set, place. ] 1. (Gram.) The shortening of the long syllable. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol. & Biol.) The contraction of the heart and arteries by which the blood is forced onward and the circulation kept up; also, the contraction of a rhythmically pulsating contractile vacuole; -- correlative to diastole. -- Sys*tol"ic a. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]