Love goddess hosting a function (7)
I believe the answer is:
operate
'function' is the definition.
(I know that function can be written as operate)
'love goddess hosting a' is the wordplay.
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'goddess' becomes 'Ate' (Greek goddess of mischief).
'hosting' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are welcomed in or hosted).
'a' becomes 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day').
'o'+'ate'='oate'
'oate' placed around 'per' is 'OPERATE'.
(Other definitions for operate that I've seen before include "Act in a theatre" , "Function; run" , "Work, run" , "Control, run, a machine say" , "Manage, run" .)