'armlike' originates from English, formed from the noun 'arm' and the suffix '-like' (from Old English 'līc') where 'arm' meant 'arm' and '-like' meant 'having the nature of or resembling'.

'arm' comes from Old English 'earm' (from Proto-Germanic *armaz), while the suffix '-like' comes from Old English 'līc' (meaning 'body' or 'similar') which became Middle English 'lik(e)'; the productive modern compound 'armlike' developed in English by combining these elements.

Initially the component words meant 'arm' and 'body/similar'; over time the compound has been used to describe something that resembles or functions like an arm, a meaning that has remained stable in modern usage.