'alkaloid-like' originates from 'alkaloid', which comes from the Arabic word 'al-qalī', meaning 'ashes of plants', combined with the suffix '-oid', meaning 'resembling'.

'alkaloid' changed from the Arabic word 'al-qalī' to the modern English word 'alkaloid', and the suffix '-like' was added to form 'alkaloid-like'.

Initially, 'alkaloid' referred to plant-derived compounds with basic properties, and 'alkaloid-like' evolved to describe substances resembling these compounds.