Aloha Aloha Aloha (; ) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians. A greeting of love and compassion; also means "to be in the presence of the divinity" or in the presence of ("alo") the "divine breath of life" ("Ha"). The Aloha Spirit law became official in 1986. The origins of the Hawaiian word "aloha" are unclear. The word goes back to the very origins of Hawaii to Kahiki (the homeland) and even further. The word is found
Aloha of examples dating back as far as 1798 and up to 1978 where it was defined as a substitute for "welcome". The modern, common use epitomizes the appropriation of the Hawaiian Language and the cultural dispossession of Native Hawaiians. Lorrin Andrews 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, compassion, grief, the modern common salutation at meeting; parting". Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert's "Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian" also contains a similar definition. The modern use as a greeting