'bootlike' originates in English, formed from the noun 'boot' and the suffix '-like', where '-like' meant 'resembling; having the qualities of'.

'bootlike' combines Middle English 'boot(e)' with the productive suffix '-like' (from Old English '-líc', later Middle English '-like') and eventually became the modern English word 'bootlike'.

Initially, it meant 'resembling a boot', and this meaning has remained largely stable in modern usage.