'annal-like' originates from English, formed by combining the noun 'annal' and the suffix '-like', where '-like' meant 'resembling' or 'in the manner of'.

'annal-like' was formed in modern English by attaching the productive suffix '-like' to the existing noun 'annal'. The noun 'annal' itself entered Middle English from Latin 'annales' (the plural of 'annalis'), which came from 'annus' meaning 'year'.

Initially, 'annal' referred to records 'of years' or yearly entries; over time it came to mean a chronological record (an 'annal'), and 'annal-like' developed to mean 'resembling such chronological records'.