aloha

Etymology

It is borrowed from Hawaiian aloha (“love, compassion, affection; also a greeting”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} cognate with Māori aroha,^[2] from which the Oxford Dictionary of English derives it instead.^[7] The OED notes that the variant English forms reflect the varying pronunciation of a single Hawaiian sound.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An utterance of aloha, an expression of welcome or farewell, or good wishes and love: 1820, in a letter by C. Tapoolee printed in the Religious Intelligencer.^[2] Merriam-Webster's Unabridged also gives 1820,^[4] Etymonline 1825^[3] and Dictionary.com 1890–95.^[8]

Semantic evolution

English writers met the Hawaiian word before they adopted it: in 1798 Vancouver recorded arrowhah as meaning that a man pitied another, and in 1818 a journal used aroah as a verb, to honour the remains of a dead man.^[2] The use as an interjection, hello or goodbye, is recorded from 1831.^[2] Etymonline notes the fuller greeting aloha 'oe, "aloha to you".^[3] The word has remained chiefly Hawaiian,^[6][5] and gave the compounds aloha shirt, a loose, brightly coloured Hawaiian shirt, and Aloha State, a nickname of Hawaii.^[5][8] Dictionary.com also records an adjective, friendly or welcoming, as in aloha spirit.^[8]

Timeline

• 1798 – arrowhah, glossed as pity, in Vancouver's account of his voyage.^[2]
• 1818 – aroah, as a verb, to honour the remains of the dead.^[2]
• 1820 – noun, a greeting or farewell; love, good wishes.^[2][4]
• 1831 – interjection, hello or goodbye.^[2]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Used, especially in Hawaii, as a greeting or a farewell: hello, goodbye.^[6][9][2][8]

Noun

1. Love, affection or kindness, especially as shown in Hawaiian hospitality.^[4][6][5]
2. An utterance of aloha; a greeting or farewell.^[2][5]

Adjective

1. Friendly, hospitable, welcoming: the aloha spirit.^[8]

Word family

• aloha shirt
• Aloha State

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins