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Etymology and origin of the English word like

Pronunciation

like1 similar

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited, Borrowing
First attested
c. 725 Beowulf
Borrowed from
Old Norse líkr via Middle English, Old English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *galīkaz
Etymology tree of like1
inherited borrowed derived
Old English gelic
English alike
English like
From the same root · like1
English each ← gelic

Etymology

The adjective meaning similar is inherited from Middle English lik, a shortening of ilik, also iliche,[2][3][4] inherited from Old English gelīc (“like, similar”),[2][3][5] and partly borrowed from Old Norse líkr, itself shortened from glíkr.[6][7][8][9][10] Etymonline suggests that the Norse word explains why the modern form is like rather than lich.[2] The Old English word is from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“having the same form”),[2][3][1] a compound of *ga- (“with, together”) and *lik- (“body, form”), so that it meant "with a corresponding body";[2][3] the second part also gave Old English līc (“body, corpse”), English lich and Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺 (leik, “body, flesh, corpse”).[3][2][9] It is cognate with Old Frisian gelīk, Old Saxon gilīk, Middle Dutch ghelijc, Dutch gelijk, Old High German gilīh, German gleich and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (galeiks).[3][2] Barnhart compares Lithuanian lýg (“alike”) and a root Proto-Indo-European *lig- (“form, shape”).[3] The preposition, adverb, conjunction and noun were all formed in English from the adjective.[3][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Similar, alike: Old English gelīc, about 725, in Beowulf.[3] The shortened Middle English forms iliche and ilik appear about 1200 and like about 1225;[3] the OED's first example of the adjective followed by to is in the Ormulum, about 1175.[6]

Semantic evolution

The preposition is recorded from about 1200, in the Ormulum, and the adverb, "in the same manner", from before 1325, in Cursor Mundi.[3][2] Barnhart dates the conjunction, "as, as if", to about 1380, while Etymonline finds it in the early 16th century, short for like as.[3][2] The comparative liker and superlative likest were still used in the 17th century.[2] The noun meant "form, shape" from about 1175 until it died out in the 19th century,[6] and "an equal, a match" from about 1300;[2] the like is from the 1550s, and the like dates from 1556, and the likes of is recorded in the 1630s.[2][6] The proverbial pattern like father, like son dates from the 1540s.[2] Later developments are to feel like, to want to (1863, first American), "such as" (1886), and like as a filler, first at the end of a phrase (1778) and later inside it (1950), in counterculture slang.[2] In mathematics, like signs are both plus or both minus (1562).[6] Ayto adds that likely was borrowed from Norse in the 13th century, and that each and such were formed from the ancestor of like.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English gelīc, similar, in Beowulf.[3]
  • c. 1175 – adjective with to; noun, form or shape (now obsolete).[6]
  • c. 1200 – preposition, similar to.[3][2]
  • c. 1300 – noun, an equal, a match.[2]
  • before 1325 – adverb, in the same manner.[3]
  • c. 1380 – conjunction, as, as if.[3] Etymonline dates it to the early 16th century.[2]
  • 1540s – like father, like son.[2]
  • 1556 – and the like.[6]
  • 1630s – the likes of.[2]
  • 1778 – as a filler at the end of a phrase.[2]
  • 1863 – feel like, to want to.[2]
  • 1950 – as a filler or hedge within a phrase.[2]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. Similar to; resembling: She looks like her aunt.[11][4]
  2. In the manner of: He ran like the wind.[11]
  3. Typical of: It was like him to forget.[4][6]
  4. Such as: sports like tennis and squash.[11][2]
  5. feel like: to want to have or do: I feel like a walk.[2]

Adjective

  1. The same or nearly the same; similar: two plants of like habit.[4][11]
  2. In mathematics, of signs: both positive or both negative.[6]

Conjunction

  1. As, in the same way as; as if: It looks like it will snow.[10][2][3]

Adverb

  1. (informal) Used as a filler or to hedge: It was, like, enormous.[11][2]
  2. (dialect) Likely, probably, as in like enough.[11][4]

Noun

  1. A person or thing of the same kind; an equal: We will not see his like again.[4][7]
  2. the like: something similar, as in and the like, and so on.[6][2]
  3. the likes of: people or things such as.[2]

Word family

like2 to please, to enjoy

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
899 before 899, Alfred's translation of Boethius
Inherited from
Old English lician via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *līkāną

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English liken,[5][4] inherited from Old English līcian (“to please, be pleasing”),[2][6][3][7] from Proto-Germanic *līkāną.[1][3] It is cognate with Old Frisian līkia, Old Saxon līkon, Dutch lijken (“to suit”), Old High German līhhēn, Old Norse líka and Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (leikan, “to please”).[6][3][2] It was formed from the Germanic base of gelīc (“similar”) and lich;[6][7][4][9] Etymonline calls the sense development unclear, perhaps from "to be like", hence "to be suitable".[2] The noun is from the verb.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To please, to be pleasing to: Old English līcian, before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.[3] The OED cites it from the Blickling Homilies and, with well, from Beowulf.[6]

Semantic evolution

Like please, the verb was at first impersonal and the liking ran the other way: the thing liked was the subject, as in Shakespeare's "The music likes you not".[2] Ayto describes the change to "find pleasing" as a semantic somersault of the 12th century,[9] and Barnhart dates "be pleased with, find agreeable" to probably before 1200;[3][6] Etymonline sees the modern construction only from the late 14th century.[2] The old sense "to please, suit" is now archaic or dialectal.[6][7][4] As you like dates from about 1230, like with a verbal noun (likes swimming) from 1655, and would like, to wish, from 1678.[6] The noun meant "pleasure" from before 1400 to 1689;[6][3] its use for a preference, chiefly in likes and dislikes, is first recorded by the OED in 1612,[6] by Barnhart and Merriam-Webster in 1851.[3][4] On social media a like is a click of approval, from 2009.[6]

Timeline

  • before 899 – Old English līcian, to please.[3]
  • c. 1150 – Middle English liken, to please.[3]
  • before 1200 – to find pleasing, enjoy.[6][3]
  • c. 1230 – to choose, prefer, as in as you like.[6]
  • before 1400 – noun, pleasure (obsolete by 1689).[6]
  • 1612 – noun, a preference, chiefly in likes and dislikes.[6]
  • 1655 – to enjoy doing something.[6]
  • 1678 – would like, to wish.[6]
  • 2009 – noun, an expression of approval on social media.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To find pleasant or agreeable; to enjoy: He likes cold weather.[4][6]
  2. To be fond of or attracted to a person.[4]
  3. would like: to want or wish: I would like a glass of water.[6]
  4. To choose or prefer: Come whenever you like.[6]
  5. (archaic) To please or suit someone.[6][4][7]

Noun

  1. A preference, usually in the plural, especially in likes and dislikes.[4][6][7]
  2. On social media, an expression of approval made by clicking an icon.[6]

Word family

Usage notes

Like as a conjunction, "as" or "as if", has been used for nearly 500 years, including by many respected writers, but has been criticized, often sharply, since the mid-19th century; it is now almost universal except in the most formal speech and writing, where as, as if and as though are preferred.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Derived terms

Related etymologies

  • geyser · also from Old Norse
  • blackmail · also from Old Norse
  • husband · also from Old Norse
  • though · also from Old Norse
  • law · also from Old Norse
  • call · also from Old Norse
  • wrong · also from Old Norse
  • hit · also from Old Norse
Cite this entry

“Like.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/like. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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