'team-like' is a modern compound formed from the noun 'team' and the productive suffix '-like' (meaning 'having the nature or form of'). 'team' in modern English comes from Old English 'tēam' and Middle English 'team', originally referring to 'descendants' or a 'group', while '-like' is derived from Old English suffix '-líc' meaning 'having the body or form of'.

'team' evolved from Old English 'tēam' (meaning 'descendants, lineage'), through Middle English with senses including 'group of draft animals' and later 'group working together', becoming the modern 'team'. The suffix '-líc' in Old English became Middle English '-lich/-like' and produced the modern suffix '-like' used to form adjectives. These elements combined productively in Modern English to form compounds such as 'team-like'.

Initially, 'team' often meant 'descendants' or a lineage and later 'a group of animals harnessed together'; over time it shifted to mean 'a group of people working together', which is the sense used in 'team-like'. The suffix '-like' originally related to 'body' or 'form' and evolved into a general adjectival suffix meaning 'resembling' or 'having the characteristics of'.