'bakerly' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'bæcere' (from the verb 'bacan'), where 'bacan' meant 'to bake' and the suffix '-ly' ultimately comes from Old English '-lic' meaning 'like' or 'having the nature of'.

'bakerly' changed from the Old English noun 'bæcere' to the Middle English 'bakere' (modern 'baker'), and the adjectival sense was formed by adding the adjective-forming element '-ly' (from Old English '-lic' → Middle English '-ly'), yielding 'bakerly'.

Initially the root referred to 'one who bakes' (a baker); over time the compound formation with '-ly' came to mean 'having the qualities of a baker' rather than the person 'a baker'.