'process-like' originates from English compounding: the noun 'process' (originally from Latin 'processus') combined with the suffix '-like' (from Old English 'līc'). In Latin 'processus' is from 'procedere' where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'cedere' meant 'to go'; in Old English 'līc' meant 'body, form'.

'process' came into English via Late Latin/Old French (Medieval Latin 'processus', Old French 'proces') and Middle English 'processe', eventually becoming modern English 'process'. The suffix '-like' comes from Old English 'līc' which developed into Middle English '-like' meaning 'having the form of' and has long been used to form adjectives; 'process' + '-like' produced the compound 'process-like' in modern English.

Initially 'process' meant 'a going forward or advance' (from Latin), and over time it came to mean 'a series of actions or steps'. The element '-like' has consistently meant 'similar to'. Together, 'process-like' evolved to mean 'resembling a process' or 'having process-like characteristics'.