'apelike' originates from English, composed of the noun 'ape' and the suffix '-like' (meaning 'having the form or nature of').

'ape' comes from Old English 'apa' (from Proto-Germanic *apan), which became Middle English 'ape'; the suffix '-like' is from Old English '-lic' (later Middle English '-like'), meaning 'having the body or form of'. These elements combined in Modern English to form 'apelike'.

Initially the components referred straightforwardly to 'ape' + 'having the nature of'; over time 'apelike' has retained that core sense but also acquired figurative (often pejorative) uses implying primitive or bestial qualities.