'saccharide-like' originates from English, specifically the combination of the word 'saccharide' and the suffix '-like', where 'saccharide' ultimately comes from Greek 'sakkharon' meaning 'sugar' and the suffix '-like' meant 'similar to'.

'saccharide' came into scientific English via Latin/French (Latin 'saccharum', French 'saccharide') from Greek 'sakkharon', and the adjective-forming suffix '-like' derives from Old English 'lic' (which developed into Modern English '-like'), so the compound 'saccharide-like' was formed in modern English by combining the noun and the productive suffix.

Initially the roots referred specifically to 'sugar' or 'sugary substance', and over time the compounded adjective came to mean 'having qualities similar to saccharides' in chemistry and descriptive contexts.