*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of alike

The adjective comes from a conflation of several different terms: * Middle English alich, alych, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anlich, anlyke, from Old English onlīċ, anlīċ. Compare

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adv

In the same manner, form, or degree; in common; equally. · Used after a list of subjects to indicate that something applies equally to all of them.

adj

Having resemblance or similitude; similar; without difference.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The adjective comes from a conflation of several different terms: * Middle English alich, alych, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anlich, anlyke, from Old English onlīċ, anlīċ. Compare German ähnlich. * The borrowed Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíkr, ultimately yielding similar Late Middle English forms. * Middle English ylich, ylych, ilich, ylik, ylike, ȝelic, from Old English ġelīċ (“like; alike; similar; equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *galīk, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”). Cognate with Scots elyke, alyke (“like, alike”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like, alike”), West Frisian lyk, gelyk (“like, alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German Low German liek, gliek (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Swedish lik (“like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”). Equivalent to a- (Etymology 3) + like. Compare also West Frisian allyk (“all the same, alike”). Similarly, the adverb also comes from a conflation of several different terms: * Middle English aliche, alyche, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anliche, anlyke, from Old English onlīċe, anlīċe. * Additionally Middle English oliche, olike, ultimately from the Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíka. * Middle English yliche, ylyche, iliche, ylike, ȝelice, from Old English ġelīċe (“alike, similarly”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:ylich",
        "id": "similar"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ga-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"like\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*leyg-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*līką\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-līkaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*galīkaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*galīk\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"ġelīċ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"ylich\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"alike\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"similar\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"alike\" id=\"English:_similar\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "alich"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English alich"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "anlich"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English anlich"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "onlīċ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English onlīċ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "ähnlich"
      },
      "expansion": "German ähnlich"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ylich"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ylich"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġelīċ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "like; alike; similar; equal"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġelīċ (“like; alike; similar; equal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*galīk"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *galīk"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*galīkaz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "alike, similar"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "elyke"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots elyke"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "gliek",
        "3": "",
        "4": "like, alike"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian gliek (“like, alike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "lyk"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian lyk"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "gelijk",
        "3": "",
        "4": "like, alike"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "liek"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German liek"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gleich",
        "3": "",
        "4": "equal, like"
      },
      "expansion": "German gleich (“equal, like”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "lig",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alike"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish lig (“alike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "lik",
        "3": "",
        "4": "like, similar"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish lik (“like, similar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "lik",
        "3": "",
        "4": "like, alike"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian lik (“like, alike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "líkur",
        "3": "",
        "4": "alike, like, similar"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a-#Etymology 3",
        "3": "like",
        "pos1": "Etymology 3"
      },
      "expansion": "a- (Etymology 3) + like"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "allyk",
        "t": "all the same, alike"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian allyk (“all the same, alike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "aliche"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English aliche"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "anliche"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English anliche"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "onlīċe"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English onlīċe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "oliche"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English oliche"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "yliche"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English yliche"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġelīċe",
        "4": "",
        "5": "alike, similarly"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġelīċe (“alike, similarly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:ylich",
        "id": "similar"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "alich",
      "alich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "alych",
      "alych#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "alyke",
      "alyke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "anlich",
      "anlich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "anlyke",
      "anlyke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "onlīċ",
      "onlic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "anlīċ",
      "anlic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ähnlich",
      "ähnlich#German"
    ],
    [
      "álíkr",
      "álíkr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "ylich",
      "ylich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ylych",
      "ylych#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ilich",
      "ilich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ylik",
      "ylik#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ylike",
      "ylike#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ȝelic",
      "ȝelic#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġelīċ",
      "gelic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*galīk",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/galīk"
    ],
    [
      "*galīkaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/galīkaz"
    ],
    [
      "elyke",
      "elyke#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "alyke",
      "alyke#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "gliek",
      "gliek#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "lyk",
      "lyk#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "gelyk",
      "gelyk#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "gelijk",
      "gelijk#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "liek",
      "liek#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "gliek",
      "gliek#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "gleich",
      "gleich#German"
    ],
    [
      "lig",
      "lig#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "lik",
      "lik#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "lik",
      "lik#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "líkur",
      "líkur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#Etymology 3"
    ],
    [
      "like",
      "like#English"
    ],
    [
      "allyk",
      "allyk#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "aliche",
      "aliche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "alyche",
      "alyche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "alyke",
      "alyke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "anliche",
      "anliche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "anlyke",
      "anlyke#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "onlīċe",
      "onlice#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "anlīċe",
      "anlice#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "oliche",
      "oliche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "olike",
      "olike#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "álíka",
      "álíka#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "yliche",
      "yliche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ylyche",
      "ylyche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "iliche",
      "iliche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ylike",
      "ylike#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ȝelice",
      "ȝelice#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġelīċe",
      "gelice#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "In the same manner, form, or degree; in common; equally.",
        "Used after a list of subjects to indicate that something applies equally to all of them."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 174425
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    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Having resemblance or similitude; similar; without difference."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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}

Where this record stops

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Contribute located evidence for alike →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWxpa2U