'ring-like' originates from modern English, specifically by combining the noun 'ring' with the adjectival suffix '-like' (meaning 'having the form or nature of').

'ring' comes from Old English 'hring' (from Proto-Germanic '*hringaz'), while the suffix '-like' developed from Old English 'lic' meaning 'body' or 'form'; these elements were combined in Modern English to form compounds such as 'ring-like'.

Initially the components meant 'a circular band' ('ring') and 'having the form of' ('-like'); over time the compound has retained the core sense of 'resembling a ring' and expanded to describe ring-shaped patterns or features.