'ant-like' is a compound of 'ant' and the suffix '-like'. 'ant' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'ǣmette' (from Proto-Germanic '*ematiz'), where the root referred to the insect 'ant'; the suffix '-like' originates from Old English 'lic', where 'lic' meant 'body' or 'similar'.

'ant' changed from Old English 'ǣmette' to Middle English forms such as 'ante'/'ant' and eventually the modern English 'ant'; the Old English adjective 'lic' developed into the Middle English suffix '-like', forming adjectives meaning 'similar to' and producing compounds like 'ant-like'.

Initially the components separately referred to the insect ('ant') and a notion of bodily form or similarity ('-like'); together they evolved to mean 'resembling an ant' in modern usage.