'fernlike' originates from the word 'fern' combined with the suffix '-like', where 'fern' refers to a type of plant and '-like' means 'resembling or similar to'.

'fern' changed from Old English word 'fearn' and eventually became the modern English word 'fern'.

Initially, 'fern' referred to a specific type of plant, and the addition of '-like' evolved to mean 'resembling a fern'.