aloha

[uh-loh-uh, ah-loh-hah]

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noun, interjection

hello; greetings.

farewell.

adjective

friendly; hospitable; welcoming: The aloha spirit prevails throughout the islands.

Origin of aloha

Borrowed into English from Hawaiian around 1890–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aloha

Contemporary Examples of aloha

In the Aloha State, Obama has endorsed and cut a radio ad for Neil Abercrombie, the incumbent governor.
Even Hawaii Hates Obama Now
David Freedlander
August 8, 2014
He spotted Nestor Gabriel Caballero Gutierrez, 39, of Aloha, Oregon, limping down the road.
Behind the Gert Boyle Kidnap Attempt
Winston Ross
November 27, 2010

Historical Examples of aloha

The orchestra had finished “Aloha Oe” and was preparing to go home.
The House of Pride
Jack London
The door is always open and over its lintel is 'Aloha,' which means 'Welcome.'
A Yankee in the Far East
George Hoyt Allen
And "Kilauea's 'Aloha' to the Lurline" it has always been to us since.
In the Track of the Trades
Lewis R. Freeman
She was "My Aloha," "my dear one," to both father and mother.
Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology)
W. D. (William Drake) Westervelt
Here he met his sister, Koai, but had only time to say, “Aloha oe!”
Hawaiian Folk Tales
Various

British Dictionary definitions for aloha

aloha

noun, sentence substitute

a Hawaiian word for hello, goodbye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aloha

1798, Hawaiian aloha, Maori aroha, an expression used in greeting or valediction, literally "love, affection, pity." Sometimes aloha 'oe, from 'oe "to you."