'amino-like' is a modern English compound formed from the combining form 'amino-' (from the chemical name 'amine', ultimately derived from 'ammonia') and the productive suffix '-like' (from Old English 'līc' meaning 'body, form, likeness').

'amino' entered chemical vocabulary in the 19th century as a combining form derived from 'amine' (named from 'ammonia'); '-like' traces back to Old English 'līc' and developed into the modern adjectival suffix '-like'. These elements were combined in modern English to create compounds such as 'amino-like'.

Initially, 'amino' referred specifically to the amine functional group derived from ammonia; over time it came to be used more broadly in compounds and compounds modifiers to indicate resemblance to amino groups or amino acids, as in 'amino-like'.