alike

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈlaɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English iliche, ilike, with forms aliche, alike in the 14th century,^[2][3] inherited from Old English ġelīċ (“similar, like”) (adverb ġelīċe) and onlīċ,^[2][4][3] from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz, from ga-, together, and *līkam, body, form,^[2][3] from PIE *lig-, shape.^[2] It was reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse álíkr (“alike”) and álíka.^[5][4][3] Cognates include Dutch gelijk, German gleich and Gothic galeiks.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Like one another, similar: about 950 in the OED;^[7] as iliche, about 1175, in Barnhart.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline describes the underlying notion as having a corresponding form or body.^[8] Barnhart argues that alike is not a compound of a- and an Old English *līc, and that the adjective like is rather a shortened form of alike.^[2] The adverb, in the same manner, is from before 1000,^[7] and the adjective is now almost always used after a verb.^[3][6] Alike-minded is from 1638.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 950 – similar (adjective).^[7]
• before 1000 – in the same way (adverb).^[7]
• c. 1175 – iliche.^[2]
• 14th century – forms in a-.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Closely resembling one another; similar.

Adverb

1. In the same way or to the same degree.

Word family

• alikeness
• soundalike
• unalike
• look-alike

Related words

• like
• likely
• each
• such
• which

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com