'antennae-like' originates from Modern English, formed by combining 'antennae' (the plural of 'antenna') and the suffix '-like' (meaning 'similar to'). 'Antenna' comes from Latin 'antenna' (originally 'yard of a sail') via New/Scientific Latin, and '-like' comes from Old English 'līc' meaning 'having the form of'.

'antenna' entered English through New/Scientific Latin and early modern scientific usage (17th–18th century) where its meaning shifted from 'sail yard' to the sensory 'feeler' on animals; the adjectival suffix '-like' developed from Old English 'līc' through Middle English into the modern '-like'. Together they formed the descriptive compound 'antennae-like'.

Initially, 'antenna' meant 'yard of a sail' in Latin, but over time it evolved in English to mean the sensory appendage on insects and other animals; '-like' has consistently meant 'similar to', so the compound now means 'similar to antennae'.