'aniseed-like' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound 'aniseed' + suffix '-like', where 'aniseed' referred to the seed of the anise plant and '-like' meant 'having the characteristics of' or 'similar to'.

'aniseed' changed from Middle English 'anis' (from Old French 'anis', from Latin 'anisum', from Greek 'ánēson' meaning 'anise'), and the element 'like' derives from Old English 'līc' (meaning 'body, form'), which developed into the adjectival suffix '-like'; these elements combined in Modern English to form 'aniseed-like'.

Initially the components referred simply to the spice ('aniseed') and to form or likeness ('like'); over time the compound came to be used specifically to describe things that smell or taste similar to aniseed ('resembling the aroma or flavor of aniseed').