'hormone-like' is a compound of 'hormone' and the suffix '-like'. 'hormone' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'hormē', where 'hormē' meant 'impulse' or 'urge'; the modern scientific term 'hormone' was coined in English in the early 20th century. The suffix '-like' originates from Old English 'lic', meaning 'having the nature of'.

'hormone' was formed from Greek 'hormē' via Neo-Latin/modern Latin 'hormon' and entered English scientific usage as 'hormone' around 1905; '-like' evolved from Old English 'lic' through Middle English 'like' to the modern suffix '-like', and the compound form 'hormone-like' developed by combining them.

Initially, 'hormē' meant 'impulse' or 'urge', and the early sense of 'hormone' was something that stimulates or excites; over time 'hormone' became the technical term for a chemical messenger produced by glands, while '-like' has consistently meant 'similar to', yielding the present meaning 'resembling a hormone'.