''Aloha'' ( , ) is the Hawaiian word for

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

, affection,

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

compassion Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...

and

mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to

native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

, for whom the term is used to define a force that holds together existence. The word is found in all

Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austron ...

and always with the same basic meaning of "love, compassion, sympathy, kindness", although the use in Hawaii has a seriousness lacking in the Tahitian and Samoan meanings.

Mary Kawena Pukui Mary Abigail Kawenaulaokalaniahiiakaikapoliopele Naleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui (20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator. Life Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in her ...

wrote that the "first expression" of ''aloha'' was between a parent and child.

Lorrin Andrews Lorrin Andrews (April 29, 1795 – September 29, 1868) was an early American missionary to Hawaii and judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works o ...

wrote the first Hawaiian dictionary, called ''A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language''. In it, he describes ''aloha'' as "A word expressing different feelings: love, affection, gratitude, kindness,

pity Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to '' compassion'', ''condolence'' or ''empathy'' – the word deriving from the Latin ''pietas'' (etymon also of '' piety''). Self-pity is pi ...

, compassion, grief, the modern common salutation at meeting; parting". Mary Kawena Pukui and

Samuel Hoyt Elbert Samuel Hoyt Elbert (8 August 1907 – 14 May 1997) was an American linguist who made major contributions to Hawaiian and Polynesian lexicography and ethnography. Born on a farm in Des Moines, Iowa, to Hugh and Ethelind Elbert, Sam grew up riding ...

's ''Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian'' also contains a similar definition.

Anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Francis Newton states that "Aloha is a complex and profound sentiment. Such emotions defy definition". Anna Wierzbicka concludes that the term has "no equivalent in English". The state of Hawaii introduced the Aloha Spirit law in 1986, which mandates that state officials and judges treat the public with Aloha.

Etymology

''Aloha'' was borrowed from the Hawaiian ''aloha'' to English language. The Hawaiian word has evolved from the

Proto-Polynesian Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using ...

greeting '' *qarofa,'' which also meant "love, pity, or compassion". It is further thought to be evolved from

Proto-Oceanic Proto-Oceanic (abbr. ''POc'') is a proto-language that historical linguists since Otto Dempwolff have reconstructed as the hypothetical common ancestor of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Oceanic is a descendant ...

root ''*qarop(-i)'' meaning "feel pity, empathy, be sorry for", which in turn descends from

Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...

''*harep.''Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), �
QAROFA (A)
��, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online ''Aloha'' has numerous cognates in other Polynesian languages, such as ''

talofa Talofa is a salutation or greeting in the Samoan language of the Samoan Islands.{{cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ptk9xUamLeUC&q=ali%27i&pg=PA209, title=Linguistic anthropology, first=Alessandro, last=Duranti, publisher=John Wiley ...

'' in Samoan, ''ta'alofa'' in Tuvaluan, and '' aro'a'' in

Cook Islands Māori Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to New Zealand Māori, but is a distinct language in its own right. Cook Islands Māori is simply c ...

. Māori given name

Aroha Aroha is a Māori word meaning "love", cognate with the Hawaiian term ''aloha''. It is also a given name. Notable people Notable people with the name include: * Aroha Awarau, journalist and playwright from New Zealand * Aroha Reriti-Crofts, ...

is also descended from the Proto-Polynesian root.

References

{{reflist Hawaiiana Hawaiian words and phrases Greeting words and phrases Parting phrases

Etymology

See also

References