LIKE

I. verb (~d; liking) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English līcian; akin to Old English gelīc a~ Date: before 12th century transitive verb to be suitable or agreeable to , 2. to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in ; enjoy , to feel toward ; regard , to wish to have ; want , to do well in , intransitive verb approve , to feel inclined ; choose , prefer , II. noun Date: 1851 liking , preference , something that one ~s, III. adjective see: co- Date: 13th century 1. the same or nearly the same (as in appearance, character, or quantity) , closely resembling the subject or original , ~ly , IV. preposition Date: 13th century 1. having the characteristics of ; similar to , typical of , comparable to ; approximating , in the manner of ; similarly to , as though there would be , such as , 5. — used to form intensive or ironic phrases V. noun Date: 13th century 1. one that is similar ; counterpart , equal , kind 4a, one of many that are similar to each other, VI. adverb Date: 14th century equally , ~ly , probably , 3. to some extent ; rather , altogether , b. — used interjectionally in informal speech often to emphasize a word or phrase (as in “He was, ~, gorgeous”) or for an apologetic, vague, or unassertive effect (as in “I need to, ~, borrow some money”) nearly ; approximately , VII. conjunction Date: 14th century 1. as if , b. — used in intensive phrases in the same way that ; as , 3. in the way or manner that , b. — used interjectionally in informal speech often with the verb be to introduce a quotation, paraphrase, or thought expressed by or imputed to the subject of the verb, or with it's to report a generally held opinion such as , Usage: Like has been used as a conjunction since the 14th century. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries it was used in serious literature, but not often; in the 17th and 18th centuries it grew more frequent but less literary. It became markedly more frequent in literary use again in the 19th century. By mid-century it was coming under critical fire, but not from grammarians, oddly enough, who were wrangling over whether it could be called a preposition or not. There is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive ~ is firmly established. It has been used by many prestigious literary figures of the past, though perhaps not in their most elevated works; in modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly writing. While the present objection to it is perhaps more heated than rational, someone writing in a formal prose style may well prefer to use as, as if, such as, or an entirely different construction instead. VIII. verbal auxiliary or ~d Date: 15th century came near ; was near