The word is found in all Polynesian languages and always with the same basic meaning of "love, compassion, sympathy, kindness."[4] Its use in Hawaii has a seriousness lacking in the Tahitian and Samoan meanings.[5]Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that the "first expression" of aloha was between a parent and child.[4]
Lorrin Andrews wrote the first Hawaiian dictionary, called A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language.[6] In it, he describes aloha as "A word expressing different feelings: love, affection, gratitude, kindness, pity, compassion, grief, the modern common salutation at meeting; parting".[7] Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert's Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian also contains a similar definition. Anthropologist Francis Newton states that "Aloha is a complex and profound sentiment. Such emotions defy definition".[5]Anna Wierzbicka concludes that the term has "no equivalent in English".[5]
The word aloha is hard to translate into any other language because it comprises complex ways of being and of interacting with and loving all of creation. An ethic of care and respect for all people and all elements of the land is wrapped up in aloha; it is a way of showing connection and reverence. Queen Liliʻuokalani is known to have said, “Aloha is to learn what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and to know the unknowable.” [8]
Another way to interpret aloha is as an energy exchange — the giving and receiving of positive energy is the spirit of aloha. As we create positive thoughts and interactions, they ripple out into the world and are merged and multiplied with the actions and energy of others. Aloha has been described as the coordination of the heart and mind to foster connectivity and peace. [9]
The state of Hawaii introduced the Aloha Spirit law in 1986, which mandates that state officials and judges treat the public with Aloha.[10][11]
The University of Hawai'i's Center for Labor Education and Research resorts the statute of the Spirit of Aloha which breaks down the concept into an acronym using each of the letters of the word:
"'Akahai,' meaning kindness, to be expressed with tenderness;
'Lōkahi,' meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony;
'ʻOluʻolu,' meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;
'Haʻahaʻa,' meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty;
'Ahonui,' meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance." [12]
Aloha was borrowed from the Hawaiian aloha to the English language. The Hawaiian word has evolved from the Proto-Polynesian greeting *qarofa,[13] which also meant "love, pity, or compassion". It is further thought to be evolved from Proto-Oceanic root *qarop(-i) meaning "feel pity, empathy, be sorry for", which in turn descends from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*harep.[14]
Aloha has numerous cognates in other Polynesian languages, such as talofainSamoan, ta'alofainTuvaluan, and aro'ainCook Islands Māori. Māori given name Aroha is also descended from the Proto-Polynesian root.
Aloha is derived from Proto-Polynesian roots alo, meaning 'presence' or 'face' and ha, meaning 'breath,' making the literal meaning something close to 'the presence of breath.' or 'the face of breath' [15]
^Andrews, Lorrin; Parker, Henry (1922). A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language. Honolulu: Board of Commissioners of Public Archives of the Territory of Hawaii. p. 52.
^Ching, June. "Aloha connection--Island tidbits". American Psychological Association. American Psycholigical Association. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
