'table-like' originates from English compounding of 'table' + suffix '-like', where 'table' comes from Old English 'tæfl' meaning 'board, plank' and '-like' comes from Old English 'lic' meaning 'having the form of'.

'table' changed from Old English 'tæfl' and from Proto-Germanic '*tablǭ' and eventually became the modern English word 'table'; the productive English suffix '-like' (from Old English 'lic') combined with nouns to form adjectives meaning 'similar to' and produced 'table-like'.

Initially, 'table' meant 'a board or flat surface (for writing, gaming, or other uses)', and over time it evolved into the current primary meaning of 'a piece of furniture with a flat top supported by legs'; the suffix '-like' originally meant 'having the form of' and has retained that meaning, so 'table-like' now means 'having the form or characteristics of a table'.