conjunction
Etymology: Middle English, from lik, like, adverb + as — more at like V
chiefly dialect : in the way or manner that : as
like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them — Ps. 103:13 (Authorized Version)
an eddy there … like as you'd expect — C.S.Forester
— now usually used with if
it was … like as if the films suddenly come real — Richard Llewellyn