what does Hale mean?

I get a lot of questions about my name.  Yes it is strange, and rare -  particularly for a first name.  People often ask what my name means.  Here in Hawaii, people often call me   " ha  le"  pronounced  ha lay.   My mother gave me the name as pronounced   "hayle"       Here's the strangest thing, though..  and there really are no accidents -   Hale in hawaiian means "house".  yes, my mother is very wise.


Most dictionaries will say it means health, or hero.  But after searching and reading about how the word hale was used in old english, it was used more as a reference to "life force".  I don't think it is too much of a stretch to jump from hero to health to life force.  They are really all connected.  The spirit within the body that connects to life itself.  In Greek, hale means breath.


The ancients probably needed a definition for the life force within us, and "Hale"  seems to come the closest.  The Chinese came up with a different term - "chi"  or "ki"  in Japanese.  


So when people ask me what my name means, I usually tell them it's old English for "chi".  And if they don't know what chi is, then that's when I ask if they've seen star wars.


btw, i do practice tai-chi chuan.


here's the kicker...   what is the relationship between "house"  and "life force"?  Maybe it all is coming full circle.  by the way, "ha" in hawaiian means breath.