<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Look up aloha in Wiktionary, the free dictionary . </Td> </Tr> <P> Aloha (pronounced (əˈlo. hə)) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting . </P> <P> 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 in all Polynesian languages and always with the same basic meaning of: love, compassion, sympathy and kindness . Its beginnings may be seen in the Maori definition as "love of kin". Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that the "first expression" of aloha was between a parent and child . The word has become a part of the English vocabulary in an awkward misuse . The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as a "greeting" like "welcome" and "farewell" using a number of examples dating back as far as 1798 . </P> <P> 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 H. Elbert's; "Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian - English, English - Hawaiian" also write a similer definition . Anthropologist, Frances Newton states that; "Aloha is a complex and profound sentiment . Such emotions defy definition". Hawaiians believe the concept to be unique, with no English equivalent . </P>

What is the meaning of aloha in english