'businesslike' originates from the word 'business' combined with the suffix '-like', where 'business' meant 'a person's regular occupation, profession, or trade' and '-like' meant 'having the characteristics of'.

'business' changed from the Old English word 'bisignes' meaning 'anxiety' or 'care', and eventually became the modern English word 'business'.

Initially, it meant 'having the characteristics of business', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.