like

Etymology 1

Verb from Middle English liken, from Old English līcian (“to like, to please”), from Proto-West Germanic *līkēn, from Proto-Germanic *līkāną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“image; likeness; similarity”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian liekje (“to be similar, resemble”), Dutch lijken (“to seem”), German Low German lieken (“to be like; resemble”), German gleichen (“to resemble”), Swedish lika (“to like; put up with; align with”), Norwegian like (“to like”), Icelandic líka (“to like”). Noun from Middle English like (“pleasure, will, like”), from the verb Middle English liken (“to like”).

verb

1. To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
   I like hamburgers.
   I like skiing in winter.
   I like the Seattle Mariners this season.
   “I can tell you more than that, if you like,” said the Gryphon. “Do you know why it’s called a whiting?” 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 10
2. (transitive, archaic) To please.
   I willingly confess that it likes me much better when I find virtue in a fair lodging than when I am bound to seek it in an ill-favoured creature. 16th century, Sir Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia
   His countenance likes me not. 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act 2, scene 2
3. (obsolete) To derive pleasure of, by or with someone or something.
   And therefore it is the best way, if you like of it, to examine these taken from experiments touching the Earth, and then proceed to those of the other kind. 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Systems of the World, (Dialogue Two)
4. To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.
   I like to go to the dentist every six months.
   She likes to keep herself physically fit.
   we like to keep one around the office just in case.
   People in Washington like to work out! Audio (US) (file) 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
5. (obsolete) To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).
6. (archaic) To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly.
   He liked to have been too late.
   He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition from the wall of Kensington Garden. 1760, Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole: Fourth Earl of Oxford, to George Montagu
7. To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.
   I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.
   ―Enju: “Apparently when you like someone, you start talking like them.” 2016-12-19, Moe! Ninja Girls, Japan: NTT Solmare, iOS, Android, scene: Season 1, Enju Ending
8. (obsolete) To liken; to compare.
   And like me to the peasant boys of France. 1590s, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1, act 4, scene 6
9. (Internet, transitive) To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote.
   I liked my friend's last status on Facebook.
   I can't stand Bloggs' tomato ketchup, but I liked it on Facebook so I could enter a competition.
10. (with 'would' and in certain other phrases) To want, desire. See also would like.
    Would you like a cigarette?
    We could go to the museum if you like.
    I don't like to disturb him when he's working.
11. (informal, chiefly in the negative) Of a computer or other system: to tolerate as an input; to accept.
    This self-service checkout doesn't seem to like my credit card.
    We were frustrated that our seeming innocent choice for a team name was rejected by the game. Apparently somewhere in the name is a word that the algorithm doesn’t like.

noun

1. (chiefly in the plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).
   Tell me your likes and dislikes.
2. (Internet) An individual vote showing support for, approval of, or enjoyment of, something posted on the Internet.
   Social media is supervisual, and there's nothing more shareable than images, so this is a way to increase shares and likes and follows. 2016, Brooke Warner, Green-Light Your Book
   Dress for myself, I don't dress for hype / I dress for myself, you dress for the likes 2019, “Balenciaga”, performed by Princess Nokia
   Likes are the social media currency undergirding an entire influencer economy, inspiring a million Kardashian wannabes and giving many of us regular people daily endorphin hits. 2020-01-17, Amy Chozick, “This Is the Guy Who’s Taking Away the Likes”, in New York Times

Etymology 2

Adjective from Middle English like, lyke, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr, glíkr; both from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar, same”). Related to alike; more distantly, with lich and -ly. Cognate with West Frisian like (“like; as”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”) Swedish lik (“like, similar”) Adverb from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, from Old English ġelīċe (“likewise, also, as, in like manner, similarly”) and Old Norse líka (“also, likewise”); both from Proto-Germanic *galīkê, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“same, like, similar”). Conjunction from Middle English like, lyke, lik, lyk, from the adverb Middle English like. Preposition from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, lijc, liih (“similar to, like, equal to, comparable with”), from Middle English like (adjective) and like (adverb).

adj

1. Similar.
   My partner and I have like minds.
   The two cats were as like as though they had come from the same litter.
   It will seem strange that in all this time the Presbytery was idle, and no effort was made to rid the place of so fell an influence. But there was a reason, and the reason, as in most like cases, was a lassie. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
2. (archaic or Scotland, Southern US) Likely; probable.
   But it is like the jolly world about us will scoff at the paradox of these practices. 1668, Robert South, The Messiah's Sufferings for the Sins of the People (sermon, March 20, 1668)
   She had waited overlong, and now it was like that Ailie would escape her toils. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
3. (Scotland, Southern US, otherwise archaic, usually with to) inclined (to), prone (to).
   He seems like to run from any semblance of hard work.
   "If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race," returned the Ghost, "will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief. 1920 [1843], Charles Dickens, “Stave three: The second of the three spirits”, in A Christmas Carol, Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, page 96

adv

1. (obsolete, colloquial) Likely.
2. (archaic or rare) In a like or similar manner.

noun

1. (sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.
   1935, Winston Churchill on T.E. Lawrence We shall never see his like again.
   It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July the 26th was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this Earth. August 6, 1945, Harry S. Truman, 01:49 from the start, in VT2008-9-2 President Truman Announces Bombing of Hiroshima, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 23630, archived from the original on 2021-11-02
   In fact it would be fair to say that he had reached a level of annoyance the like of which had never been seen in the Universe. 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 93
   There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.
   It was something the likes of which I had never seen before.
2. (golf) The stroke that equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side.
   to play the like

conj

1. (colloquial) As, the way.
   1966, Advertising slogan for Winston cigarettes Winston tastes good like a cigarette should
   But if you do right to me, baby I’ll do right to you, too Ya got to do unto others Like you’d have them, like you’d have them, do unto you 1978, Bob Dylan, Do Unto Others
2. (usually colloquial) As if; as though.
   It looks like you've finished the project.
   It seemed like you didn't care.

prep

1. Similar to, reminiscent of
   Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
   When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. […]. The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess
   Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth. 2013-06-07, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36
2. Typical of
   It would be just like Achilles to be sulking in his tent.
3. Approximating
   Popcorn costs something like $10 dollars at the movies.
4. In the manner of, similarly to
   He doesn't act like a president.
5. Such as
   It's for websites like Wikipedia.
6. As if there would be
   It looks like a hot summer in Europe.
7. Used to ask for a description or opinion of someone or something
   I hear she has a new boyfriend. What's he like?
   What's the weather like in Ürümqi today?

Etymology 3

From like (adverb) and like (adjective).

verb

1. (chiefly dialectal, intransitive) To be likely.
   He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition, from the wall of Kensington garden. 1837, Earl of Orford Walpole (Horace), Correspondence with George Montagu