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, for whom the term is used to define a force that holds together existence. The word is found in all Polynesian languages and always with the same basic meaning, although the use in Hawaii has a seriousness lacking in the Tahitian and Samoan traditions.

Source: Wikipedia