'blossom-like' is formed from the modern English components 'blossom' + suffix '-like'. 'blossom' originates in Old English 'blostma' (also attested as 'blōstm') meaning 'flower', and the suffix '-like' comes from Old English 'līc' meaning 'similar' or 'having the form of'.

'blossom' changed from Old English 'blostma' to Middle English forms such as 'blosme'/'blosm' and eventually to the modern English 'blossom'. The adjectival suffix '-like' evolved from Old English adjectival element 'līc' through Middle English '-like' into the present-day productive suffix '-like' used to form adjectives of resemblance.

Initially, 'blossom' primarily denoted the 'flower' or the 'state of flowering', and '-like' meant 'similar to' or 'in the form of'. Combined as 'blossom-like', the phrase originally meant 'resembling a flower'; over time it has also taken on figurative senses such as 'fresh', 'flourishing', or 'promising'.