'damselfly-like' originates from English, specifically the compound 'damselfly' + the suffix '-like', where 'damselfly' refers to the slender insect and '-like' means 'having the characteristics of'.

'damselfly' developed as a compound of 'damsel' + 'fly' in Modern English; 'damsel' comes from Old French 'damoisele' (young lady) and 'fly' from Old English 'flēoge', and the adjectival formation with '-like' produced the compound 'damselfly-like'.

Initially it literally meant 'like a damselfly' (i.e., similar in form to the insect); over time it has been used both for physical resemblance and figurative senses (movement, grace), retaining that core idea of 'resembling a damselfly'.