'plume-like' originates from Modern English, specifically from the word 'plume' + the suffix '-like', where 'plume' meant 'feather' and '-like' meant 'having the form of'.

'plume' comes from Old French 'plume', which in turn comes from Latin 'pluma' meaning 'soft feather'; the suffix '-like' descends from Old English 'līc' meaning 'shape or form', and the compound formation produced 'plume-like' in later English usage.

Initially, the elements referred specifically to a 'soft feather' and 'shape/form'; over time the compound came to mean more generally 'resembling a plume', including decorative or figurative resemblances.