Where does “businesslike” come from?
Businesslike derives from English business plus the Middle English suffix -like, from Old English -līċ meaning resembling or having the quality of, ultimately from Proto-Germanic galīkaz and Proto-Indo-European roots meaning together and form.
businesslike (English): Methodical and efficient, in a way that would be...
Definitions
- Methodical and efficient, in a way that would be...
Ancestry of “businesslike”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | business | A specific commercial enterprise or... |
| 2 | Middle English | busines | — |
| 3 | Old English | bisiġnes | business, busyness |
| 4 | Old English | -nes | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -nassī | Used to form abstract nouns, usually from... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -inassuz | -ness |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | -ī | -ness, -th |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -į̄ | -th |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -íh₂ | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -h₂ | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups... |