'phantomlike' originates from Modern English by combining the noun 'phantom' with the suffix '-like' (Old English/Old Norse-derived productive suffix meaning 'having the nature of' or 'resembling').

'phantom' comes into English via Old French 'fantosme' and medieval Latin 'phantasma,' ultimately from Greek 'phantasma' (φαντασμα). The modern English composition 'phantom' + '-like' produced 'phantomlike' to mean 'like a phantom.'

Initially 'phantasma' in Greek meant 'an appearance' or 'an apparition'; over time this developed into Old French and Latin forms referring specifically to ghosts or apparitions, and in modern English the element 'phantom' retains the sense of a ghostly or unreal presence, which '-like' then qualifies as 'resembling that presence.'