'hairlike' originates from Old English elements: 'hær' (hair) and the adjective-forming suffix '-lic' (like), where 'hær' meant 'hair' and '-lic' meant 'having the body or form of'.

'hairlike' developed in Middle English from a compound of 'hair' + the Old English suffix '-lic' (rendered in Middle English as '-lich' or '-like') and eventually became the modern English adjective 'hairlike'.

Initially the components indicated 'having the nature or form of hair'; over time the compound came to be used specifically for things that 'resemble hair' or are 'very thin and filamentous'.