Introduction

Love, compassion, and pity to Tonga and the city of Nuku'alofa.

There is disagreement whether Oceanic word: "to be fond of, to feel empathy for" is properly reconstructed as with an *l, making it a likely derivative of Austronesian *qalǝp: "to beckon, to wave", or with an *r, and thus presumably a separate root.

In Polynesian languages with becomes particularly confusing since, first, almost complete merger of *r and *l, and second, the common practive in Polynesian languages of using "love, compassion" as a salutation. You could even imagine that the merger of "wave to" and "feel compassion for" drives the development of the salutation.

This is probably also separate from Oceanic *qarop: "front, face", just an accident of the merger of Malayo-Polynesian *d and *r. Though there is some precedent for semantic shift between "face" and various emotions.

Full Text

• Austronesian *qalǝp to beckon, to wave

  • Pazeh m-arep to beckon
  • Malayo-Polynesian *qalo *qalop to beckon, to wave forms that preserve the *p are probably all suffixed forms, like the transitive *qalopi

    • Chamorro alof to beckon
    • Philippine

      • Tagalog ayap to call, to summon
    • Oceanic *qalo

      • Fijian yalo / yalova to wave, to beckon
      • Wayan alo / alovi to wave, to beckon, to signal
      • Micronesian

        • Kiribati ano to beckon
      • Polynesian *ʔaro *ʔarof

        • Tongic

          • Niuēan alo to beckon, to signal
        • Polynesian *ʔarof-ak-i

          • Outlier Polynesian

            • Takuu arofāki to beckon
          • Nuclear Polynesian

            • Māori aroarofaki a hand motion in dance
  • Austronesian *ta-qalop *taRa-qalop with unknown prefix *ta(Ra)-

    • Malayo-Polynesian

      • Oceanic *tā-qalo *tā-qalop

        • Wayan tā-yalo wave
        • Polynesian *ta-ʔalo

          • Tongan ta-'alo to beckon
          • Nuclear Polynesian

            • Samoic

              • Samoan tālo to wave, to beckon

                • Samoan talofa greeting
  • Malayo-Polynesian *qarop like, be fond of

    • Oceanic *qarop *qarop-i

      • Southeast Solomonic

        • Bughotu arovi rarovi to pity
        • Gela arovi to pity
      • Oceanic *qarop-an fondness

        • Polynesian *ʔarofa love, compassion

          • Outlier Polynesian

            • Anuta aropa pity, compassion, love
          • Tongan alofa love

            • Tongan ofa to love
            • Tongan Nukuʻalofa Place of Love (placename)

              • English Nukuʻalofa
          • Nuclear Polynesian

            • Marquesic

              • Hawaiʻian aloha love, compassion, greeting

                • English aloha
                • Hawaiʻian aloha kakahiaka good morning
                • Hawaiʻian aloha ahiahi good morning
            • Rapa Nui ꞌaroha
            • Samoic

              • Samoan talofa greeting
              • Samoan alofa love
            • Tahitic

              • Māori aroha love, compassion

                • English aroha
              • Tahitian arōfa compassion, pity

Visual

Collected English words

Nukuʻalofa, aloha, aroha