alike
Meanings
Adjective
- having the same or similar characteristics
- "all politicians are alike"
- "they looked utterly alike"
- "friends are generally alike in background and taste"
Adverb
- equally
- "parents and teachers alike demanded reforms"
- in a like manner
- "they walk alike"
Adj
- Having resemblance or similitude; similar; without difference.
Adv
- In the same manner, form, or degree; in common; equally.
- In the same manner, form, or degree; in common; equally.
- Used after a list of subjects to indicate that something applies equally to all of them.
Origin / Etymology
The adjective comes from a conflation of several different terms:
* Middle English alich, alych, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anlich, anlyke, from Old English onlīċ, anlīċ. Compare German ähnlich.
* The borrowed Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíkr, ultimately yielding similar Late Middle English forms.
* Middle English ylich, ylych, ilich, ylik, ylike, ȝelic, from Old English ġelīċ (“like; alike; similar; equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *galīk, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”). Cognate with Scots elyke, alyke (“like, alike”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like, alike”), West Frisian lyk, gelyk (“like, alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German Low German liek, gliek (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Swedish lik (“like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”). Equivalent to a- (Etymology 3) + like. Compare also West Frisian allyk (“all the same, alike”).
Similarly, the adverb also comes from a conflation of several different terms:
* Middle English aliche, alyche, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anliche, anlyke, from Old English onlīċe, anlīċe.
* Additionally Middle English oliche, olike, ultimately from the Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíka.
* Middle English yliche, ylyche, iliche, ylike, ȝelice, from Old English ġelīċe (“alike, similarly”).
Scrabble Score: 9
alike is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordalike is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
alike is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary