The word aloha derives from the Proto-Polynesian root *alofa. It has descendents in other Polynesian languages, such as the Māori word aroha, also meaning "love."
A folk etymology claims that it derives from a compound of the Hawaiian words alo meaning "presence", "front", "face", or "share"; and ha, meaning "breath of life" or "essence of life." Although alo does indeed mean "presence" etc., the word for breath is spelled with a macron or kāhako over the a (hā) whereas the word aloha does not have a long a.
Before contact with the West, the words used for greeting were welina and anoai. Today, "aloha kakahiaka" is the phrase for "good morning." "Aloha ʻauinalā" means "good afternoon" and "aloha ahiahi" means "good evening." "Aloha kākou" is a common form of "welcome to all."
In modern Hawaiʻi, numerous businesses have aloha in their names, with more than 3 pages of listings in the Oʻahu phone book alone.
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HULA DANCING ++ + +
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