'phantom-like' is formed in English by combining 'phantom' (from Greek 'phantasma', meaning 'apparition') with the suffix '-like', which means 'resembling or similar to'.

'Phantom' comes from the Greek word 'phantasma', which passed into Latin as 'phantasma', then into Old French as 'fantosme', and finally into English as 'phantom'. The suffix '-like' has been used in English since Old English to form adjectives meaning 'similar to'.

Initially, 'phantom-like' meant 'resembling a phantom or ghost', and this meaning has remained consistent in modern usage.