Origin of the word like

How the ubiquitous, often-reviled word associated with young people and slackers represents the ever-changing English language

Zak Bickel / The Atlantic

In our mouths or in print, in villages or in cities, in buildings or in caves, a language doesn’t sit still. It can’t. Language change has preceded apace even in places known for preserving a language in amber. You may have heard that Icelanders can still read the ancient sagas written almost a thousand years ago in Old Norse. It is true that written Icelandic is quite similar to Old Norse, but the spoken language is quite different—Old Norse speakers would sound a tad extraterrestrial to modern Icelanders. There have been assorted changes in the grammar, but language has moved on, on that distant isle as everywhere else.

It’s under this view of language—as something becoming rather than being, a film rather than a photo, in motion rather than at rest—that we should consider the way young people use (drum roll, please) like. So deeply reviled, so hard on the ears of so many, so new, and with such an air of the unfinished, of insecurity and even dimness, the new like is hard to, well, love. But it takes on a different aspect when you consider it within this context of language being ever-evolving.

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First, let’s take like in just its traditional, accepted forms. Even in its dictionary definition, like is the product of stark changes in meaning that no one would ever guess. To an Old English speaker, the word that later became like was the word for, of all things, “body.” The word was lic, and lic was part of a word, gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of,” which was a way of saying “similar to”—as in like. Gelic over time shortened to just lic, which became like. Of course, there were no days when these changes happened abruptly and became official. It was just that, step by step, the syllable lic, which to an Old English speaker meant “body,” came to mean, when uttered by people centuries later, “similar to”—and life went on.

Like has become a piece of grammar: It is the source of the suffix —ly. To the extent that slowly means “in a slow fashion,” as in “with the quality of slowness,” it is easy (and correct) to imagine that slowly began as “slow-like,” with like gradually wearing away into a —ly suffix. That historical process is especially clear in that there are still people who, colloquially, say slow-like, angry-like. Technically, like yielded two suffixes, because —ly is also used with adjectives, as in portly and saintly. Again, the pathway from saint-like to saint- ly is not hard to perceive.

Like has become a part of compounds. Likewise began as like plus a word, wise, which was different from the one meaning “smart when either a child or getting old.” This other wise meant “manner”: Likewise meant “similar in manner.” This wise disappeared as a word on its own, and so now we think of it as a suffix, as in clockwise and stepwise. But we still have likeminded, where we can easily perceive minded as having independent meaning. Dictionaries tell us it’s pronounced “like-MINE-did,” but I, for one, say “LIKE- minded” and have heard many others do so.

Therefore, like is ever so much more than some isolated thing clinically described in a dictionary with a definition like “(preposition) ‘having the same characteristics or qualities as; similar to.’” Think of a cold, limp, slimy squid splayed wet on a cutting board, its lifeless tentacles dribbling in coils, about to be sliced into calamari rings—in comparison to the brutally fleet, remorseless, dynamic creatures squid are when alive underwater—like as “(preposition) …” is wet on a cutting board.

There is a lot more to it: It swims, as it were. What we are seeing in like’s transformations today are just the latest chapters in a story that began with an ancient word that was supposed to mean “body.”

Because we think of like as meaning “akin to” or “similar to,” kids decorating every sentence or two with it seems like overuse. After all, how often should a coherently minded person need to note that something is similar to something rather than just being that something? The new like, then, is associated with hesitation. It is common to label the newer generations as harboring a fear of venturing a definite statement.

That analysis seems especially appropriate in that this usage of like first reached the national consciousness with its usage by Beatniks in the 1950s, as in, “Like, wow!” We associate the Beatniks, as a prelude to the counterculture with their free-ranging aesthetic and recreational sensibilities, with relativism. Part of the essence of the Beatnik was a reluctance to be judgmental of anyone but those who would dare to (1) be judgmental themselves or (2) openly abuse others. However, the Beatniks were also associated with a certain griminess—why would others imitate them?— upon which it bears mentioning that the genealogy of the modern like traces farther back. Ordinary people, too, have long been using like as an appendage to indicate similarity with a trace of hesitation. The “slow-like” kind of usage is a continuation of this, and Saul Bellow has thoroughly un- Beatnik characters in his novels of the 1950s use like in a way we would expect a decade or two later. “That’s the right clue and may do me some good. Something very big. Truth, like,” says Tommy Wilhelm in 1956’s Seize the Day, a character raised in the 1910s and ’20s, long before anyone had ever heard of a Beatnik. Bellow also has Henderson in Henderson the Rain King use like this way. Both Wilhelm and Henderson are tortured, galumphing char- acters riddled with uncertainty, but hippies they are not.

So today’s like did not spring mysteriously from a crowd on the margins of unusual mind-set and then somehow jump the rails from them into the general population. The seeds of the modern like lay among ordinary people; the Beatniks may not even have played a significant role in what happened later. The point is that like transformed from something occasional into something more regular. Fade out, fade in: recently I heard a lad of roughly sixteen chatting with a friend about something that had happened the weekend before, and his utterance was—this is as close to verbatim as I can get: So we got there and we thought we were going to have the room to ourselves and it turned out that like a family had booked it already. So we’re standing there and there were like grandparents and like grandkids and aunts and uncles all over the place. Anyone who has listened to American English over the past several decades will agree that this is thoroughly typical like usage.

The problem with the hesitation analysis is that this was a thoroughly confident speaker. He told this story with zest, vividness, and joy. What, after all, would occasion hesitation in spelling out that a family was holding an event in a room? It’s real-life usage of this kind—to linguists it is data, just like climate patterns are to meteorologists—that suggests that the idea of like as the linguistic equivalent to slumped shoulders is off.

Understandably so, of course—the meaning of like suggests that people are claiming that everything is “like” itself rather than itself. But as we have seen, words’ meanings change, and not just because someone invents a portable listening device and gives it a name composed of words that used to be applied to something else (Walkman), but because even the language of people stranded in a cave where life never changed would be under constant transformation. Like is a word, and so we’d expect it to develop new meanings: the only question, as always, is which one? So is it that young people are strangely overusing the like from the dictionary, or might it be that like has birthed a child with a different function altogether? When one alternative involves saddling entire generations of people, of an awesome array of circumstances across a vast nation, with a mysteriously potent inferiority complex, the other possibility beckons as worthy of engagement.

In that light, what has happened to like is that it has morphed into a modal marker—actually, one that functions as a protean indicator of the human mind at work in conversation. There are actually two modal marker likes—that is, to be fluent in modern American English is to have subconsciously internalized not one but two instances of grammar involving like.

Let’s start with So we’re standing there and there were like grandparents and like grandkids and aunts and uncles all over the place. That sentence, upon examination, is more than just what the words mean in isolation plus a bizarre squirt of slouchy little likes. Like grandparents and like grandkids means, when we break down what this teenager was actually trying to communicate, that given the circumstances, you might think it strange that an entire family popped up in this space we expected to be empty for our use, but in fact, it really was a whole family. In that, we have, for one, factuality—“no, really, I mean a family.” The original meaning of like applies in that one is saying “You may think I mean something like a couple and their son, but I mean something like a whole brood.”

And in that, note that there is also at the same time an acknowledgment of counterexpectation. The new like acknowledges unspoken objection while underlining one’s own point (the factuality). Like grandparents translates here as “There were, despite what you might think, actually grandparents.” Another example: I opened the door and it was, like, her! certainly doesn’t mean “Duhhhh, I suppose it’s okay for me to identify the person as her . . .” Vagueness is hardly the issue here. That sentence is uttered to mean “As we all know, I would have expected her father, the next-door neighbor, or some other person, or maybe a phone call or e-mail from her, but instead it was, actually, her.” Factuality and counterexpectation in one package, again. It may seem that I am freighting the little word with a bit much, but consider: It was, like, her! That sentence has a very precise meaning, despite the fact that because of its sociological associations with the young, to many it carries a whiff of Bubble Yum, peanut butter, or marijuana.

We could call that version of like “reinforcing like.” Then there is a second new like, which is closer to what people tend to think of all its new uses: it is indeed a hedge. However, that alone doesn’t do it justice: we miss that the hedge is just plain nice, something that has further implications for how we place this like in a linguistic sense. This is, like, the only way to make it work does not mean “Duhhhh, I guess this seems like the way to make it work.” A person says this in a context in which the news is unwelcome to the hearer, and this was either mentioned before or, just as likely, is unstatedly obvious. The like acknowledges—imagine even a little curtsey—the discomfort. It softens the blow—that is, eases—by swathing the statement in the garb of hypotheticality that the basic meaning of like lends. Something “like” x is less threatening than x itself; to phrase things as if x were only “like,” x is thus like offering a glass of water, a compress, or a warm little blanket. An equivalent is “Let’s take our pill now,” said by someone who is not, themselves, about to take the pill along with the poor sick person. The sick one knows it, too, but the phrasing with “we” is a soothing action, acknowledging that taking pills can be a bit of a drag.

Note that while this new like cushions a blow, the blow does get delivered. Rather than being a weak gesture, the new like can be seen as gentle but firm. The main point is that it is part of the linguistic system, not something merely littering it up. It isn’t surprising that a word meaning “similar to” morphs into a word that quietly allows us to avoid being bumptious, via courteously addressing its likeness rather than the thing itself, via considering it rather than addressing it. Just as uptalk sounds like a question but isn’t, like sounds like a mere shirk of certainty but isn’t.

Like LOL, like, entrenched in all kinds of sentences, used subconsciously, and difficult to parse the real meaning of without careful consideration, has all the hallmarks of a piece of grammar—specifically, in the pragmatic department, modal wing. One thing making it especially clear that the new like is not just a tic of heedless, underconfident youth is that many of the people who started using it in the new way in the 1970s are now middle-aged. People’s sense of how they talk tends to differ from the reality, and the person of a certain age who claims never to use like “that way” as often as not, like, does—and often. As I write, a sentence such as There were like grandparents and like grandkids in there is as likely to be spoken by a forty-something as by a teenager or a college student. Just listen around the next time you’re standing in a line, watching a talk show, or possibly even listening to yourself.

Then, the two likes I have mentioned must be distinguished from yet a third usage, the quotative like—as in “And she was like, ‘I didn’t even invite him.’ ” This is yet another way that like has become grammar. The meaning “similar to” is as natural a source here as it was for —ly: mimicking people’s utterances is talking similarly to, as in “like,” them. Few of the like-haters distinguish this like from the other new usages, since all are associated with young people and verbal slackerdom. But the third new like doesn’t do the jobs the others do: there is nothing hesitational or even polite about quotative like, much less especially forceful à la the reinforcing like. It is a thoroughly straightforward way of quoting a person, often followed by a verbatim mimicry complete with gestures. That’s worlds away from This is, like, the only way to make it work or There were like grandkids in there. Thus the modern American English speaker has mastered not just two, but actually three different new usages of like.

This article has been adapted from John McWhorter’s latest book , Words on the Move: Why English Won’t—and Can’t—Sit Still (Like, Literally).

Источник

Published February 17, 2011

Whether you regard yourself as a scholar of linguistics or a self proclaimed language snob—you’ve probably, at least once, crossed over to the dark side and used the word like in a sentence where it, like, doesn’t belong.

Narrowly escaping the grammar police, you catch yourself, cringe, and promise never again! This usage of like is known as a slang interjection. This form as well as the adverbial use dates back a lot further than you might think, though.

Valley girl speak

Many people believe Moon Unit Zappa and her 1982 single Valley Girl are responsible for popularizing this usage of like precisely at the moment Ms. Zappa sang, “It’s like, barf me out.” This sociolect that the song celebrates, Valspeak, originates in Southern California.

Like in pop culture

In reality, the slang use of the word like has been a part of popular culture dating as far back as 1928 and a cartoon in the New Yorker that depicts two women discussing a man’s workspace with a text that reads, “What’s he got – an awfice?” “No, he’s got like a loft.” The word pops up again in 1962’s A Clockwork Orange as the narrator proclaims, “I, like, didn’t say anything.” The notorious usage of like appeared as linguistic filler as early as the 19th century with the following passage in Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novel Kidnapped: “’What’s like wrong with him?’ said she at last.”Like is an extensible word that can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, and interjection. What uses of “like” do you think are acceptable and which should be discouraged?

Источник

What is the origin of the word like?

To an Old English speaker, the word that later became like was the word for, of all things, “body.” The word was lic, and lic was part of a word, gelic, that meant “with the body,” as in “with the body of,” which was a way of saying “similar to”—as in like. Gelic over time shortened to just lic, which became like.

What liked means?

Definitions of liked. adjective. found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form. “a well- liked teacher” Synonyms: likable, likeable.

What type of word is liked?

verb – Word

Is avenge same as revenge?

Avenge is a verb. To avenge is to punish a wrongdoing with the intent of seeing justice done. Revenge implies inflicting pain or harm to retaliate for real or fancied wrongs; a reflexive pronoun is often used with this verb: Iago wished to revenge himself upon Othello. …

Is it wrong to avenge?

It is inherently unhealthy because it takes a psychological and physical toll on the person. Venting those feelings of anger and hostility does not decrease those feelings,” he said. “It may give you a cathartic feeling, but it doesn’t last.” Revenge spawns an endless cycle of retribution.

What is the best revenge quote?

“The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” “If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you’re allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.” “Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.”

Is getting revenge worth it?

But while getting revenge might help you feel validated in the moment, it ultimately doesn’t change your life or circumstances. Even if you get temporary relief or happiness from getting some revenge, it might be worth finding other ways to handle your emotions.

What does God say about revenge?

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

Is forgiving someone the best revenge?

It is very easy to take revenge but it is very difficult to forgive others. Thus this proverb teaches us to forgive the person who does some harm to us and not to take revenge upon him or not try to harm him in more severe manner than he does in return. …

What is the best revenge?

The best revenge is to smile at hatred. To stifle your anger and show them that you can be happy. Because there’s no better strategy than to act calmly and wisely moving forward, with a firm gaze and a peaceful heart, knowing that you do not need to carry that burden.

What is the best revenge for cheating?

7 Ways To Get Oh-So-Sweet Revenge On Your Cheating Boyfriend

  1. Cut him off completely.
  2. Get your body rockin’.
  3. Become friends with the girl(s) he cheated with.
  4. Gain family support.
  5. Broadcast his infidelity everywhere.
  6. Date one of his friends.
  7. Give him the silent treatment.

What is the sweetest revenge?

The sweetest revenge for evil behavior is kindness in return. This idea is as infectious as acting harshly to those who mistreat us or others.

Источник

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • lak

Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: līk, IPA(key): /laɪ̯k/
  • (MLE, Jamaica) IPA(key): /læ̙ːk/, /lɑːk/
  • (Dublin English) IPA(key): /lɔɪ̯k/
  • Audio — ‘to like’ (UK) (file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪk

Etymology 1[edit]

Verb from Middle English liken, from Old English līcian (“to like, to please”), from Proto-West Germanic *līkēn, from Proto-Germanic *līkāną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“image; likeness; similarity”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian liekje (“to be similar, resemble”), Dutch lijken (“to seem”), German Low German lieken (“to be like; resemble”), German gleichen (“to resemble”), Swedish lika (“to like; put up with; align with”), Norwegian like (“to like”), Icelandic líka (“to like”).

Noun from Middle English like (“pleasure, will, like”), from the verb Middle English liken (“to like”).

Verb[edit]

like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle liking, simple past and past participle liked)

  1. To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
    Antonyms: dislike, hate, mislike

    I like hamburgers.

    I like skiing in winter.

    I like the Seattle Mariners this season.

    • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book I, page 21:

      He may either go or stay, as he best likes.

    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

      At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.

  2. (transitive, archaic) To please.

    • 16th century, Sir Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia‎[1]:

      I willingly confess that it likes me much better when I find virtue in a fair lodging than when I am bound to seek it in an ill-favoured creature.

  3. (obsolete) To derive pleasure of, by or with someone or something.

    • 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Systems of the World, (Dialogue Two):

      And therefore it is the best way, if you like of it, to examine these taken from experiments touching the Earth, and then proceed to those of the other kind.

    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 2:

      He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.

  4. To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.

    I like to go to the dentist every six months.

    She likes to keep herself physically fit.

    we like to keep one around the office just in case.

    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)‎[2]:

      People in Washington like to work out!

  5. (obsolete) To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).

    • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

      You like well, and bear your years very well.

  6. (archaic) To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly.

    He liked to have been too late.

    • 1760, Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole: Fourth Earl of Oxford‎[3], to George Montagu:

      He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition from the wall of Kensington Garden.

  7. To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.
    Synonyms: (British) fancy, enjoy, love
    Antonyms: dislike, hate, mislike

    I really like Sandra but don’t know how to tell her.

    • 2016 December 19, Moe! Ninja Girls, Japan: NTT Solmare, iOS, Android, scene: Season 1, Enju Ending:

      ― Enju: “Apparently when you like someone, you start talking like them.”

  8. (obsolete) To liken; to compare.
  9. (Internet, transitive) To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote.
    Antonyms: unlike, dislike

    I liked my friend’s last status on Facebook.

    I can’t stand Bloggs’ tomato ketchup, but I liked it on Facebook so I could enter a competition.

  10. (with ‘would’ and in certain other phrases) To want, desire. See also would like.

    Would you like a cigarette?

    We could go to the museum if you like.

    I don’t like to disturb him when he’s working.

  11. (computing, chiefly in the negative) To accept as an input.

    We were frustrated that our seeming innocent choice for a team name was rejected by the censor. Apparently somewhere in the name is a word that the censor doesn’t like.

Usage notes[edit]
  • In its senses of “enjoy” and “maintain as a regular habit”, like is a catenative verb; in the former, it usually takes a gerund (-ing form), while in the latter, it takes a to-infinitive. See also Appendix:English catenative verbs.
  • Like is only used to mean “want” in certain expressions, such as “if you like” and “I would like”. The conditional form, would like, is used quite freely as a polite synonym for want.
Conjugation[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
  • belike
  • forelike
  • likable
  • likeful
  • likesome
  • mislike
  • unlike
[edit]
  • like like
  • would like
Descendants[edit]
  • Jersey Dutch: lāike
Translations[edit]

enjoy

  • Afrikaans: hou van
  • Albanian: pëlqej (sq)
  • American Sign Language: Open8@NearChest-PalmBack 8@FromChest-PalmBack
  • Arabic: حَبَّ‎ (ar) (ḥabba), أَحَبَّ‎ (ar) (ʔaḥabba), اِسْتَمْطَعَ‎ (istamṭaʕa), أَعْجَبَ‎ (ar) (ʔaʕjaba)
    Egyptian Arabic: حب‎ (ḥabb)
  • Armenian: սիրել (hy) (sirel)
  • Aromanian: plac, arisescu
  • Azerbaijani: bəyənmək (az), xoşlamaq (az), xoşu gəlmək (az), xoşuna gəlmək
  • Basque: gustatu
  • Belarusian: падаба́цца (be) (padabácca) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case), любі́ць (ljubícʹ) (transitive)
  • Bengali: পছন্দ করা (bn) (pochondo kora)
  • Breton: karout (br)
  • Bulgarian: харе́свам (bg) impf (harésvam)
  • Burmese: ကြိုက် (my) (kruik)
  • Catalan: agradar (ca)
  • Cebuano: buot
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese: 喜歡／喜欢 (hei2 fun1) (formal), 鍾意／钟意 (yue) (zung1 ji3) (vernacular)
    Dungan: щихуан (xihuan), хуанщи (huanxi)
    Mandarin: 喜歡／喜欢 (zh) (xǐhuan)
    Min Nan: 佮意 (zh-min-nan) (kah-ì)
  • Cornish: kara, bos da gans (with subject and object reversed)
  • Czech: mít rád (cs), líbit se (with subject and object reversed)
  • Danish: kunne lide, synes om
  • Dutch: houden van, graag (nl) (hebben (nl)), lusten (nl), graag (nl) lusten (nl), leuk (nl) vinden (nl)
  • Esperanto: plaĉi al (with subject and object reversed), ŝati (eo) (modern), ami (eo) (traditional)
  • Estonian: meeldima (subject and object reversed)
  • Faroese: dáma (with subject in dative case and object in accusative case), hóva (with subject in dative case and object in accusative case), líka (with subject in dative case and object in accusative case), falla (fo) (with subject in dative case and object in accusative case)
  • Finnish: pitää (fi), tykätä (fi), nauttia (fi)
  • French: aimer (fr), plaire (à) (fr) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb), bien aimer
  • Galician: gustar
  • Georgian: მოსწონს (mosc̣ons)
  • German: mögen (de), gern haben (de), gefallen (de) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case)
  • Greek: αρέσει (el) (arései), (passive form) αρέσκομαι (el) (aréskomai), προτιμώ (el) (protimó), αγαπώ (el) (agapó)
    Ancient: φιλέω (philéō)
  • Hebrew: אהב‎ (he) (aháv)
  • Hindi: पसंद करना (pasand karnā) (+ …ने (ne))
  • Hungarian: szeret (hu), kedvel (hu), tetszik (hu) (with the person or thing liked in the dative), ínyére van
  • Icelandic: líka (is)
  • Ido: prizar (io)
  • Indonesian: suka (id)
  • Interlingua: amar (ia), fruer
  • Irish: is maith le (with subject and object reversed)
  • Isan: please add this translation if you can
  • Italian: piacere a (it) (with subject and object reversed)
  • Japanese: …が好き (ja) (… がすき, … ga suki), 好む (ja) (このむ, konomu)
  • Kazakh: ұнату (kk) (ūnatu), жарату (jaratu)
  • Khmer: ចូលចិត្ត (coul cət), ចំណូល (km) (cɑmnoul)
  • Korean: 좋아하다 (ko) (joahada)
  • Kumyk: хошуна гелмек (xoşuna gelmek), гёнгюне гирмек (göñüne girmek), ушатмакъ (uşatmaq), ушатдырмакъ (uşatdırmaq), ушатылмакъ (uşatılmaq), ярамакъ (yaramaq), арив гёрмек (ariw görmek), кепине гелмек (kepine gelmek)
  • Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: پێخۆشبوون‎ (pêxoşbûn), حەزلێبوون‎ (ḧezlêbûn)
  • Kyrgyz: жактыруу (ky) (jaktıruu)
  • Lao: ມັກ (mak), ຊອບ (sǭp)
  • Latin: amō (la), dīligō, placeō (la), probō (la), approbō (la), fruor
  • Latvian: patikt (subject and object reversed)
  • Lithuanian: patikti (subject and object reversed)
  • Low German:
    German Low German: geernhebben, leefhebben, mögen (nds)
  • Lü: ᦠᦳᧄ (ḣum)
  • Macedonian: се допаѓа impf (se dopaǵa) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb), се допадне pf (se dopadne)
  • Malay: suka (ms)
  • Manx: s’laik lesh, s’mie lesh (with subject and object reversed)
  • Maori: matareka
  • Mongolian: дурлах (mn) (durlax), дуртай байх (durtaj bajx), дуртай (durtaj) (suffix)
  • Neapolitan: piacé a (with subject and object reversed)
  • Nepali: मन पराउनु [man parāunu], राम्रो लाग्नु [rāmro lāgnu]
  • Ngazidja Comorian: hwandza, upvendza
  • Norman: aimer
  • Northern Sami: liikot
  • Northern Thai: ᨾᩢ᩠ᨠ (mak), ᩉᩩᨾ (hum), ᨪᩬᨷ (sop)
  • Norwegian: like (no), synes om
  • Occitan: agradar (oc)
  • Old English: līcian (with subject and object reversed)
  • Persian: دوست داشتن‎ (fa) (dust dâštan), از … خوش… آمدن‎ (fa) (az … xoš-… âmadan)
  • Plautdietsch: jleichen
  • Polish: lubić (pl), podobać się (pl) impf (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case)
  • Portuguese: gostar (pt)
  • Romanian: plăcea (ro) (with subject and object reversed)
  • Russian: нра́виться (ru) impf (nrávitʹsja) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case) (e.g. мне нра́вится (mne nrávitsja) + nominative case — I like + object), люби́ть (ru) impf (ljubítʹ)
  • Serbo-Croatian: sviđati se (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case)
    Cyrillic: волити
    Latin: voliti (sh)
  • Shan: please add this translation if you can
  • Slovak: mať rád m, mať rada f, páčiť sa, ľúbiť sa
  • Slovene: imeti rad
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: spódobaś se impf, zespódobaś se pf (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case)
  • Spanish: gustar (es) (with subject and object reversed)
  • Swahili: kupenda
  • Swedish: tycka om (sv), gilla (sv)
  • Tagalog: magustohan
  • Tajik: дуст доштан (dust doštan)
  • Tamil: விருப்பம் (ta) (viruppam)
  • Tày: ái
  • Telugu: ఇస్టపడు (isṭapaḍu)
  • Thai: ชอบ (th) (chɔ̂ɔp)
  • Turkish: hoşlanmak (tr), sevmek (tr)
  • Ukrainian: подо́батися (podóbatysja) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case), люби́ти (uk) (ljubýty) (transitive)
  • Uzbek: yoqtirmoq (uz)
  • Vietnamese: thích (vi)
  • Volapük: löfilön (vo), plidön (vo)
  • Welsh: hoffi (cy), leicio
  • Yiddish: געפֿעלן‎ (gefeln) (intransitive, the person who likes is the object of the verb in the dative case)
  • Zazaki: sinayen, weş şiyen, rıdiyen
  • Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

find attractive

  • Afrikaans: hou van
  • Arabic: please add this translation if you can
  • Armenian: դուր գալ (dur gal) (intransitive), հավանել (hy) (havanel)
  • Bulgarian: харесвам (bg) (haresvam)
  • Catalan: agradar (ca)
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese: 喜歡／喜欢 (hei2 fun1) (formal), 鍾意／钟意 (yue) (zung1 ji3) (vernacular)
    Dungan: please add this translation if you can
    Mandarin: 喜歡／喜欢 (zh) (xǐhuan)
    Min Nan: 佮意 (zh-min-nan) (kah-ì)
  • Czech: mít rád (cs), líbit se (with subject and object reversed)
  • Dutch: graag hebben, graag zien, zich aangetrokken voelen tot, leuk vinden
  • Esperanto: ŝati (eo)
  • Finnish: pitää (fi), tykätä (fi)
  • French: plaire (fr) (intransitive) (with subject and object reversed)
  • Galician: gostar
  • Georgian: მოსწონს (mosc̣ons), ეტრფის (eṭrpis), თვალში მოსდის (tvalši mosdis)
  • German: mögen (de), gern haben (de), gefallen (de) + dat (with subject and object reversed)
  • Greek: αρέσει (el) (arései), αγαπώ (el) (agapó)
  • Hebrew: חיבב‎ (ḥibév)
  • Hindi: पसंद होना (pasand honā) (intransitive)
  • Hungarian: tetszik (hu) (with the person or thing liked in the dative case)
  • Icelandic: líka (is)
  • Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
  • Italian: piacere (it)
  • Japanese: …が好き (ja) (… がすき, … ga suki), 好む (ja) (このむ, konomu)
  • Korean: 좋아하다 (ko) (joahada)
  • Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: حەزلێکردن‌‎ (ḧezlêkirdin)
  • Malay: suka (ms)
  • Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
  • Northern Sami: liikot
  • Norwegian: like (no), synes om
  • Polish: podobać się (with subject and object reversed), nawidzieć się impf (archaic)
  • Portuguese: gostar (pt)
  • Russian: нра́виться (ru) impf (nrávitʹsja), понра́виться (ru) pf (ponrávitʹsja) (intransitive)
  • Slovene: všeč
  • Spanish: gustar (es) (with subject and object reversed)
  • Swahili: please add this translation if you can
  • Swedish: tycka om (sv), gilla (sv)
  • Tày: ái
  • Thai: ชอบ (th) (chɔ̂ɔp)
  • Turkish: sevmek (tr), hoşlanmak (tr), hoşuna gitmek, beğenmek (tr)
  • Urdu: پسند ہونا‎ (pasand honā) (intransitive)
  • Vietnamese: thích (vi)
  • Welsh: serchu
  • Zazaki: weş şiyayen, rıdyayen

to show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote

  • Armenian: հավանել (hy) (havanel), լայքել (laykʿel)
  • Azerbaijani: bəyənmək (az), layk düyməsinə basmaq
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 点赞 (zh) (diǎnzàn), 讚／赞 (zh) (zàn)
  • Czech: lajknout (cs) pf, lajkovat (cs) impf
  • Dutch: liken (nl)
  • Finnish: tykätä (fi)
  • French: plussoyer (fr), aimer (fr), liker (fr)
  • Georgian: მოსწონს (mosc̣ons), ალაიქებს (alaikebs) (colloquial)
  • German: liken (de)
  • Greek: λαϊκάρω (laïkáro), βάζω λάικ (vázo láik)
  • Hungarian: lájkol (hu)
  • Icelandic: líka (is), læka
  • Japanese: いいね！する (ii ne! suru)
  • Korean: 좋아요 하다 (joayo hada)
  • Polish: lajkować (pl), dać lajka pf
  • Portuguese: curtir (pt), dar like
  • Russian: ста́вить лайк impf (stávitʹ lajk), поста́вить лайк pf (postávitʹ lajk), ла́йкать (ru) impf (lájkatʹ), ла́йкнуть (ru) pf (lájknutʹ)
  • Spanish: likear
  • Swedish: gilla (sv), lajka (slang)
  • Zazaki: like kerden

to want, desire

  • Finnish: tahtoa (fi), haluta (fi)
  • Hungarian: szeretne (hu), kér (hu) (only with a physical object as its object), akar (hu) (chiefly with an action as its object), szeret (hu) (for general statements)
  • Northern Sami: sihtat

Noun[edit]

like (plural likes)

  1. (chiefly in the plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).
    Synonyms: favorite, preference
    Antonyms: dislike, pet hate, pet peeve

    Tell me your likes and dislikes.

  2. (Internet) An individual vote showing support for, approval of, or enjoyment of, something posted on the Internet.

    • 2016, Brooke Warner, Green-Light Your Book:

      Social media is supervisual, and there’s nothing more shareable than images, so this is a way to increase shares and likes and follows.

    • 2019, “Balenciaga”, performed by Princess Nokia:

      Dress for myself, I don’t dress for hype / I dress for myself, you dress for the likes

    • 2020 January 17, Amy Chozick, “This Is the Guy Who’s Taking Away the Likes”, in New York Times‎[4]:

      Likes are the social media currency undergirding an entire influencer economy, inspiring a million Kardashian wannabes and giving many of us regular people daily endorphin hits.

Translations[edit]

something that a person likes

  • Bulgarian: предпочитание (bg) n (predpočitanie)
  • Catalan: preferències (ca) f pl
  • Dutch: favoriet (nl) m, voorkeur (nl) m
  • Esperanto: prefero
  • Finnish: mieltymys (fi)
  • French: préférence (fr) f
  • German: Vorliebe (de) f
  • Greek: προτίμηση (el) f (protímisi), συμπάθεια (el) f (sympátheia), αγάπη (el) f (agápi)
  • Italian: preferenza (it) f
  • Japanese: 好み (ja) (このみ, konomi)
  • Malay: kesukaan (ms)
  • Portuguese: gosto (pt) m
  • Romanian: preferință (ro) f
  • Spanish: gustos (es) m pl, preferencias (es) f pl, predilecciones (es) f pl, filias (es) f pl
  • Swedish: smak (sv) c, preferenser (sv) pl
  • Tagalog: (please verify) kinahiligan gusto
  • Telugu: ఇష్టము (te) (iṣṭamu)

Internet interaction

  • Belarusian: падаба́йка f (padabájka), лайк m (lajk)
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 贊／赞 (zh) (zàn)
  • Dutch: like (nl) m
  • Finnish: tykkäys (fi)
  • French: j’aime (fr) m, mention « j’aime » f
  • Georgian: მოწონება (moc̣oneba), ლაიქი (laiki) (colloquial)
  • German: Like (de) m or n
  • Greek: αγαπημένο (el) n (agapiméno)
  • Hungarian: lájk (hu)
  • Persian: لایک‎ (fa) (lâyk)
  • Polish: lajk m
  • Portuguese: like (pt) m, gosto (pt) m, curtida f, joinha (pt) m
  • Russian: лайк (ru) m (lajk)
  • Swedish: gilla-markering c, klick (sv) n, uppskattning (sv) c, gillning (sv) c, lajk (sv) c
  • Ukrainian: вподоба́йка f (vpodobájka), лайк m (lajk)

References[edit]

  • like on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2[edit]

Adjective from Middle English like, lyke, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr, glíkr; both from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar, same”). Related to alike; more distantly, with lich and -ly. Cognate with West Frisian like (“like; as”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”) Swedish lik (“like, similar”)

Adverb from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, from Old English ġelīċe (“likewise, also, as, in like manner, similarly”) and Old Norse líka (“also, likewise”); both from Proto-Germanic *galīkê, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“same, like, similar”).

Conjunction from Middle English like, lyke, lik, lyk, from the adverb Middle English like.

Preposition from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, lijc, liih (“similar to, like, equal to, comparable with”), from Middle English like (adjective) and like (adverb).

Adjective[edit]

like (comparative more like, superlative most like)

  1. Similar.

    My partner and I have like minds.

    The two cats were as like as though they had come from the same litter.

    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
      It will seem strange that in all this time the Presbytery was idle, and no effort was made to rid the place of so fell an influence. But there was a reason, and the reason, as in most like cases, was a lassie.

    • 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. 3, Landlord Edmund”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk):

      […] and this is not a sky, it is a Soul and living Face! Nothing liker the Temple of the Highest, bright with some real effulgence of the Highest, is seen in this world.

    • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

      I opened the man’s linen robe, and there over his heart was a dagger-wound, and beneath the woman’s fair breast was a like cruel stab, through which her life had ebbed away.

  2. (Scotland, Southern US) Likely; probable.
    • 1668, Robert South, The Messiah’s Sufferings for the Sins of the People (sermon, March 20, 1668)
      But it is like the jolly world about us will scoff at the paradox of these practices.

    • 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

      Many were […] not easy to be govern’d, nor like to conform themselves to such strict rules.

    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
      She had waited overlong, and now it was like that Ailie would escape her toils.
  3. (Scotland, Southern US, otherwise archaic, usually with to) inclined (to), prone (to).

    He seems like to run from any semblance of hard work.

    • 1920 [1843], Dickens, Charles, “Stave three: The second of the three spirits”, in A Christmas Carol, Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, page 96:

      «If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,» returned the Ghost, «will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.»

      Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.

Derived terms[edit]
  • a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
  • alike
  • -like
  • likeless
  • likewise
  • likeworthy
  • likish
  • talk like a book
  • Unix-like
[edit]
  • as like as not
Translations[edit]

similar

  • Adyghe: фэд (fed)
  • Afrikaans: soos (af)
  • Arabic: مِثْل‎ (ar) (miṯl)
    Algerian Arabic: كيما‎
    Hijazi Arabic: زَيّ‎ (zayy)
  • Armenian: նման (hy) (nman)
  • Bulgarian: подобен (bg) (podoben)
  • Catalan: semblant (ca) m or f
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 相像的 (zh) (xiāngxiàng de)
  • Danish: som (da)
  • Dutch: zoals (nl), gelijk (nl)
  • Esperanto: kiel (eo), simila
  • Finnish: samanlainen (fi)
  • French: pareil (fr)
  • German: gleich (de)
  • Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (galeiks)
  • Greek: όμοιος (el) m (ómoios), ίδιος (el) m (ídios), παραπλήσιος (el) m (paraplísios)
    Ancient: ὅμοιος (hómoios), ἴδιος (ídios)
  • Icelandic: líkur (is) m
  • Indonesian: seperti (id)
  • Irish: cosúil (ga)
  • Italian: simile (it)
  • Japanese: …のように (ja) (…no yō ni)
  • Kabardian: хуэд (xʷed)
  • Korean: 처럼 (ko) (cheoreom)
  • Latin: similis (la) m
  • Malay: bagai, macam, seperti
  • Persian: مانند‎ (fa) (mânand), مثل‎ (fa) (mesl-e)
  • Polish: podobny (pl) m
  • Portuguese: semelhante (pt)
  • Russian: похо́жий (ru) (poxóžij)
  • Spanish: semejante (es), similar (es)
  • Swedish: lik (sv)
  • Tajik: монанд (tg) (monand), мисли (tg) (misli)
  • Thai: เหมือน (th) (mʉ̌ʉan)
  • Tibetan: འདྲ་པོ (‘dra po)
  • Turkish: benzer (tr)
  • Ukrainian: поді́бний m (podíbnyj)
  • Zazaki: zey (diq), manen
  • Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

Translations to be checked

  • Hebrew: כמו‎ (he)

Adverb[edit]

like (comparative more like, superlative most like)

  1. (obsolete, colloquial) Likely.

    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

      DON PEDRO. May be she doth but counterfeit.
      CLAUDIO. Faith, like enough.

  2. (archaic or rare) In a like or similar manner.

Noun[edit]

like (countable and uncountable, plural likes)

  2. (sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.

    • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

      «Such things do happen and centre round the wicked medium. You can get down into a region which is akin to the popular idea of witchcraft, it is dishonest to deny it.» «Like attracts like,» explained Mrs. Mailey[.]

    • 1935, Winston Churchill on T.E. Lawrence
      We shall never see his like again.

    • 1945 August 6, Truman, Harry S., VT2008-9-2 President Truman Announces Bombing of Hiroshima‎[5], Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 23630, archived from the original on 02 November 2021, 01:49 from the start:

      It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July the 26th was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this Earth.

    • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 93:

      In fact it would be fair to say that he had reached a level of annoyance the like of which had never been seen in the Universe.

    There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.

    It was something the likes of which I had never seen before.

  3. (golf) The stroke that equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side.

    to play the like

Synonyms[edit]
  • ilk
Antonyms[edit]
  • antithesis, opposite
Derived terms[edit]
  • like-for-like
Translations[edit]

something similar to a given person or object

  • Arabic: مِثْل‎ (ar) m (miṯl), شِبْه‎ (ar) m (šibh)
    Hijazi Arabic: زَيّ‎ (zayy), شبه‎ (šabah)
  • Dutch: evenknie (nl) m, dat soort dingen n pl, gelijkaardige dingen n pl, gelijkaardigheden f pl
  • Esperanto: simila
  • Finnish: lainen (fi), kaltainen (fi)
  • German: meinesgleichen (de), deinesgleichen (de), seinesgleichen (de) (his/its like), euresgleichen, unseresgleichen (de), ihresgleichen (de)
  • Greek: όμοιος (el) m (ómoios)
    Ancient: ὅμοιος (hómoios)
  • Irish: leithéid f
  • Portuguese: tipo (pt) m
  • Scottish Gaelic: leithid f
  • Swedish: like (sv)

Conjunction[edit]

like

  1. (colloquial) As, the way.
    • 1966, Advertising slogan for Winston cigarettes
      Winston tastes good like a cigarette should
    • 1978, «Do Unto Others» by Bob Dylan
      But if you do right to me, baby
      I’ll do right to you, too
      Ya got to do unto others
      Like you’d have them, like you’d have them, do unto you

    • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 160:

      Like the Mesolithic age of 10,000-8000 B.C., the period 6000-4000 B.C. seems to be one of the fall of fortresses and the rise of pastoral nomadism.

  2. As if; as though.

    It looks like you’ve finished the project.

    It seemed like you didn’t care.

Usage notes[edit]
  • The American Heritage Dictionary opines that using like as a conjunction, instead of as, the way, as if, or as though, is informal; it has, however, been routine since the Middle English period. AHD4 says «Writers since Chaucer’s time have used like as a conjunction, but 19th-century and 20th-century critics have been so vehement in their condemnations of this usage that a writer who uses the construction in formal style risks being accused of illiteracy or worse», and recommends using as in formal speech and writing. OED does not tag it as colloquial or nonstandard, but notes, «Used as conj[unction]: = ‘like as’, as. Now generally condemned as vulgar or slovenly, though examples may be found in many recent writers of standing.»
Derived terms[edit]
  • feel like
  • like it’s going out of style
  • look like
  • seem like
  • sound like

Preposition[edit]

like

  1. Similar to, reminiscent of

    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.

    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients:

      Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path […]. It twisted and turned, […] and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. ‘Twas the house I’d seen the roof of from the beach.

    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

      It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector’s face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎[6]:

      She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.

    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess‎[7]:

      When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. […]. The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain.

    • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

      Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.

  2. Typical of
    It would be just like Achilles to be sulking in his tent.
  3. Approximating
    Popcorn costs something like $10 dollars at the movies.
  4. In the manner of, similarly to
    He doesn’t act like a president.
  5. Such as
    It’s for websites like Wikipedia.
  6. As if there would be
    It looks like a hot summer in Europe.
  7. Used to ask for a description or opinion of someone or something
    I hear she has a new boyfriend. What’s he like?
    What’s the weather like in Ürümqi today?
Synonyms[edit]
  • (such as): for example, such as, (archaic) as
Antonyms[edit]
  • unlike
Derived terms[edit]
  • like a bull at a gate
  • like a demon
Translations[edit]

similar to

  • Afrikaans: soos (af)
  • Albanian: si
  • Arabic: مِثْل‎ (ar) (miṯl), كَـ‎ (ar) (ka-)
    Algerian Arabic: كيما‎
    Egyptian Arabic: زي‎ (zayy)
    Hijazi Arabic: زَيّ‎ (zayy)
  • Armenian: ինչպես (hy) (inčʿpes)
  • Belarusian: як (be) (jak)
  • Bengali: মত (bn) (mot)
  • Breton: evel (br)
  • Bulgarian: като́ (bg) (kató)
  • Burmese: လို (my) (lui)
  • Catalan: com (ca)
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese: 好似 (hou2 ci5), 如 (yue) (jyu4) (literary)
    Mandarin: 象 (zh) (xiàng), 相像的 (zh) (xiāngxiàng de), 如 (zh) (rú) (literary), 猶如／犹如 (zh) (yóurú) (literary)
  • Czech: jako (cs), jak (cs)
  • Danish: som (da), lig (da)
  • Dutch: zoals (nl), als (nl), lijkend op, gelijk (nl) (maybe only in Flanders)
  • Egyptian:

    mi

    (mj)

  • Esperanto: kiel (eo), kvazaŭ (eo)
  • Estonian: kui (et), nagu (et)
  • Faroese: eins og, líkasum
  • Finnish: kuten (fi), kuin (fi)
  • French: comme (fr)
  • Georgian: please add this translation if you can
  • German: wie (de), nach (de)
  • Gothic: 𐍃𐍅𐌴 (swē)
  • Greek: ως (el) (os), σαν (el) (san)
    Ancient: ὅμοιος (hómoios) (+ dative case), ἐοικώς (eoikṓs) (+ dative case), οἷον (hoîon)
  • Hebrew: כמו‎ (he) (kmo)
  • Hindi: … की तरह (… kī tarah), … तरह (… tarah)
  • Hungarian: mint (hu)
  • Icelandic: eins og (is), sem (is), líkt og
  • Ido: quale (io)
  • Irish: ar nós
  • Italian: come (it), quale (it)
  • Japanese: …のように (…no yō ni)
  • Khmer: ដូច (km) (dooc)
  • Korean: 처럼 (ko) (cheoreom), 같이 (ko) (gachi)
  • Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: وەک‎ (ckb) (wek)
  • Lao: ດັ່ງ (dang), ຄື (lo) (khư̄), ທໍ່ (thǭ)
  • Latin: sicuti, iuxta, sicut
  • Latvian: kā (lv)
  • Lingala: lokóla
  • Lithuanian: lyg
  • Livonian: kui
  • Macedonian: како (kako)
  • Northern Sami: nu go
  • Norwegian: lik (no), som (no)
  • Persian: مثل‎ (fa) (mesl-e), مانند‎ (fa) (mânand)
  • Polish: jak (pl)
  • Portuguese: como (pt)
  • Romanian: ca (ro)
  • Russian: как (ru) (kak)
  • Sanskrit: इव (sa) (iva)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: ка̏о
    Roman: kȁo (sh)
  • Slovak: ako
  • Slovene: kot (sl)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: ako, kaž
  • Spanish: como (es)
  • Swedish: som (sv), lik (sv)
  • Tajik: мисли (tg) (misli)
  • Talysh:
    Asalemi: (postposition) شار‎ (šâr)
  • Telugu: లాంటి (lāṇṭi)
  • Thai: เหมือน (th) (mʉ̌ʉan), อย่าง (th) (yàang)
  • Turkish: gibi (tr)
  • Ukrainian: як (uk) (jak)
  • Urdu: … کی طرح‎ (… kī tarah), … طرح‎ (… tarah)
  • Vietnamese: như (vi)
  • Welsh: fel (cy)
  • West Frisian: lykas
  • Zazaki: manen
  • Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

such as

  • Arabic: مِثْل‎ (ar) (miṯl), كَـ‎ (ar) (ka-)
    Hijazi Arabic: زَيّ‎ (zayy)
  • Azerbaijani: kimi (az)
  • Belarusian: як (be) (jak)
  • Breton: evel (br)
  • Bulgarian: като́ (bg) (kató)
  • Burmese: လို (my) (lui)
  • Catalan: com (ca)
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese: 好似 (hou2 ci5)
    Mandarin: 象 (zh) (xiàng), 如 (zh) (rú), 好似 (zh) (hǎosì)
  • Czech: jako (cs)
  • Dutch: zoals (nl), als (nl)
  • Finnish: kuten (fi)
  • French: comme (fr)
  • German: wie (de)
  • Greek: όπως (el) (ópos)
    Ancient Greek: ὥσπερ (hṓsper)
  • Hindi: के जैसा (hi) (ke jaisā)
  • Italian: come (it)
  • Japanese: …よう (ja) (…yō)
  • Kazakh: -дай (-dai), -дей (-dei), -тай (-tai), -тей (-tei)
  • Khmer: ដូច (km) (douc), ដូចជា (km) (douc ciə)
  • Korean: …처럼 (ko) (…cheoreom)
  • Kyrgyz: -дай (-day)
  • Lao: ດັ່ງ (dang), ທໍ່ (thǭ)
  • Macedonian: ка́ко (káko)
  • Malay: seperti, bagai, macam, bak (ms)
  • Malayalam: പോലെ (pōle)
  • Persian: مثل‎ (fa) (mesl)
  • Polish: jak (pl)
  • Portuguese: como (pt), tipo (pt)
  • Russian: как (ru) (kak)
  • Sanskrit: इव (sa) (iva)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: као
    Roman: kao (sh)
  • Slovak: ako
  • Slovene: kot (sl)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: ako, kaž
  • Spanish: como (es)
  • Swahili: kama (sw)
  • Swedish: som (sv)
  • Tajik: мисл (misl)
  • Thai: เช่น (th) (chên)
  • Turkish: gibi (tr)
  • Tuvan: дег (deg), ышкаш (ışkaş)
  • Ukrainian: як (uk) (jak)
  • Uzbek: xuddi (uz)
  • Yakut: курдук (kurduk)
  • Zazaki: ze

Particle[edit]

like

  1. Likely.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Mark Twain:
      “You’ll try it, some day, like enough; but you’ll get tired of the change pretty soon.” “Why?” “Well, I’ll tell you. Now you’ve always been a sailor; did you ever try some other business?”

    • 1936, New Mexico: The Sunshine State’s Recreational and Highway Magazine:

      If I can’t spare the time—well, like as not we go anyhow. And where else can you ride all day with your saddle and neck full of snow brushed from the trees and still not freeze half to death?

  2. (colloquial, Scotland, Ireland, Tyneside, Teesside, Liverpudlian) A delayed filler.

    He was so angry, like.

  3. (colloquial) Indicating approximation or uncertainty.

    There were, like, twenty of them.

    She was, like, sooooo happy.

    • 1972, Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts, December 1:
      [Sally Brown:] Christmas is getting all you can get while the getting is good.
      [Charlie Brown:] GIVING! The only real joy is GIVING!
      [Sally Brown, rolling her eyes:] Like, wow!
  4. (colloquial, slang) Used to precede an approximate quotation or paraphrase or an expression of something that happened.

    I was like, “Why did you do that?” and he’s like, “I don’t know.”

    And then he, like, got all angry and left the room.

    A customer walked in like, «I demand to see the manager!»

    • 2006, Lily Allen, Knock ‘Em Out
      You’re just doing your own thing and some one comes out the blue,
      They’re like, «Alright»
      What ya saying, «Yeah can I take your digits?»
      And you’re like, «no not in a million years, you’re nasty please leave me alone.»

    • 2014, Geoffrey Riddell, The Fly-ahead Boy, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 108:

      ‘It made this sky ripping noise, and then went like “bang”, real hard into the ground. A long way away but.’

Usage notes[edit]

The use as a quotative is informal; it is commonly used by young people, and commonly disliked by older generations, especially in repeated use. It may be combined with the use of the present tense as a narrative. (For its use preceded by a form of be, see be like.) Similar terms are to go and all, as in I go, “Why did you do that?” and he goes, “I don’t know” and I was all, “Why did you do that?” and he was all, “I don’t know.” These expressions can imply that the attributed remark which follows is representative rather than necessarily an exact quotation; however, in speech these structures do tend to require mimicking the original speaker’s inflection in a way said would not.

Excessive use of «like» as a meaningless filler is widely criticised.

Synonyms[edit]
  • (delayed filler): I mean, you know
  • (mild intensifier): I mean, well, you know
  • (indicating approximation or uncertainty): I mean, well, you know
  • (colloquial: used to precede paraphrased quotations): be all, go
Translations[edit]

colloquial: mild intensifier

  • Arabic: نَوْعًا مَا‎ (nawʕan mā), كْمَا لَو كَان‎ (kmā law kān)
    Egyptian Arabic: زي ما تقول‎ (zay mā tʾūl), تقريبًا‎ (taʾriban)
  • Burmese: ပေါ့ (my) (pau.)
  • Finnish: niinku (fi)
  • French: genre (fr), comme (fr) (Canada)
  • German: so (de)
  • Hebrew: כאילו‎ (he) (keílu)
  • Japanese: って言うか (っていうか, tte iuka)
  • Malayalam: പോലെ (pōle)
  • Portuguese: tipo (pt), tipo assim (pt)
  • Russian: ти́па (ru) (típa)
  • Sanskrit: इव (sa) (iva)
  • Serbo-Croatian: ono (sh), kao (sh), ovaj, onak’ (sh), tipa
  • Spanish: como que
  • Swedish: liksom (sv)

Etymology 3[edit]

From like (adverb) and like (adjective).

Verb[edit]

like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle liking, simple past and past participle liked)

  1. (chiefly dialectal, intransitive) To be likely.

    • 1837, Earl of Orford Walpole (Horace), Correspondence with George Montagu:

      He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition, from the wall of Kensington garden.

References[edit]
  • A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, →ISBN
  • like at OneLook Dictionary Search

Further reading[edit]

  • “I’m (like) ” from Language Log

Anagrams[edit]

  • Kiel, Kile, kile, liek

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English like.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Cantonese (Jyutping): lai1 ki2
  • Cantonese
    • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
      • Jyutping: lai1 ki2
      • Yale: lāi kí
      • Cantonese Pinyin: lai1 ki2
      • Guangdong Romanization: lei1 ki2
      • Sinological IPA (key): /lɐi̯⁵⁵ kʰiː³⁵/

Noun[edit]

like

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, figuratively) appreciation; approval

Verb[edit]

like

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang) to like
  2. (Cantonese) Alternative form of likey.

See also[edit]

  • likey

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English like.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [lɑjɡ̊]

Noun[edit]

like n (singular definite liket, plural indefinite likes)

  1. (Internet) like

    Den fik 30.000 likes i løbet af en halv time, hvilket er ret meget.

    It received 30,000 likes in the course of half an hour, which is quite a lot.

Verb[edit]

like (imperative like, infinitive at like, present tense liker, past tense likede, perfect tense har liket)

  1. (Internet) to like

    Han havde liket sin egen kommentar.

    He had liked his own comment.

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Homophones: likent, likes

Verb[edit]

like

  1. inflection of liker:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

German[edit]

Verb[edit]

like

  1. inflection of liken:
    1. first-person singular present
    2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
    3. singular imperative

Hawaiian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Eastern Polynesian *lite. Compare Maori rite.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈli.ke/, [ˈlike]

Verb[edit]

like

  1. (stative) like, alike, similar

Derived terms[edit]

  • hoʻolike: to make things equal, to make things similar (less common)
  • hoʻohālike: to make things equal, to make things similar (more common)

References[edit]

  • “like” in the Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition, University of Hawaii Press, 1986

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse líka, from Proto-Germanic *līkāną.

Verb[edit]

like (imperative lik, present tense liker, simple past likte, past participle likt)

  1. to like

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective[edit]

like

  1. definite singular of lik
  2. plural of lik

Etymology 3[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb[edit]

like

  1. as, equally

    Han er like lang som henne.

    He is as tall as she.
Derived terms[edit]
  • likefullt, like fullt
  • likeledes
  • likeså

References[edit]

  • “like” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /²liːkə/

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Norse líka.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • lika

Verb[edit]

like (imperative lik or like, present tense likar or liker, simple past lika or likte, past participle lika or likt)

  1. to like

Etymology 2[edit]

Adjective[edit]

like

  1. definite singular of lik
  2. plural of lik

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old Norse líka.

Adverb[edit]

like

  1. as, equally

    Dei er like høge.

    They are equally tall. / They are as tall as each other.
  2. just, immediately

    Han kom fram like før det stengte.

    He got there just before it closed.

References[edit]

  • “like” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English līcian (“to be pleasing”).

Verb[edit]

like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle likin, simple past likit, past participle likit)

  1. To like.
  2. To be hesitant to do something.
    I dinna like. ― I’m not certain I would like to.
  3. To love somebody or something.

Adverb[edit]

like (not comparable)

  1. like

Interjection[edit]

like

  1. (South Scots) Used to place emphasis upon a statement.
    Oo jist saw it the now, like. ― We like, just now saw it.

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English like.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈlaik/ [ˈlai̯k]
  • Rhymes: -aik

Noun[edit]

like m (plural likes)

  1. (Internet slang) like

Usage notes[edit]

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Swedish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

like

  1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of lik.

Noun[edit]

like c

  1. match (someone similarly skillful)

    Han hade mött sin like

    He had met his match

Declension[edit]

Declension of like 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative like liken likar likarna
Genitive likes likens likars likarnas
Источник

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In English, the word like has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, filler, quotative, semi-suffix.

Uses[edit]

Comparisons[edit]

Like is one of the words in the English language that can introduce a simile (a stylistic device comparing two dissimilar ideas). It can be used as a preposition, as in «He runs like a cheetah»; it can also be used as a suffix, as in «She acts very child-like«. It can also be used in non-simile comparisons such as, «She has a dog like ours».[1]

As a conjunction[edit]

Like is often used in place of the subordinating conjunction as, or as if.[2] Examples:

  • They look like they have been having fun.
  • They look as if they have been having fun.

Many people became aware of the two options in 1954, when a famous ad campaign for Winston cigarettes introduced the slogan «Winston tastes good—like a cigarette should.» The slogan was criticized for its usage by prescriptivists, the «as» construction being considered more proper. Winston countered with another ad, featuring a woman with greying hair in a bun who insists that ought to be «Winston tastes good as a cigarette should» and is shouted down by happy cigarette smokers asking «What do you want—good grammar or good taste?»

The appropriateness of its usage as a conjunction is still disputed, however. In some circles, it is considered a faux pas to use like instead of as or as if, whereas in other circles as sounds stilted.

As a noun[edit]

Like can be used as a noun meaning «preference» or «kind». Examples:

  • She had many likes and dislikes.
  • We’ll never see the like again.

When used specifically on social media, it can refer to interactions with content posted by a user, commonly referred to as «likes» on websites such as Twitter or Instagram.

  • That picture you posted got a lot of likes!

As a verb[edit]

As a verb, like generally refers to a fondness for something or someone.[1]

  • I like riding my bicycle.

Like can be used to express a feeling of attraction between two people that is weaker than love. It does not necessarily imply a romantic attraction.[3][4] Example:

  • Marc likes Denise.
  • I’ve taken a liking to our new neighbors.

Like can also be used to indicate a wish for something in a polite manner.[1] Example:

  • Would you like a cup of coffee?

As a colloquial adverb[edit]

In some regional dialects of English, like may be used as an adverbial colloquialism in the construction be + like + to infinitive, meaning «be likely to, be ready to, be on the verge of.» Examples:

  • He was like to go back next time.
  • He was like to go mad.

As the following attest, this construction has a long history in the English language.

  • But Clarence had slumped to his knees before I had half-finished, and he was like to go out of his mind with fright. (Mark Twain, 1669, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court)
  • He saw he was like to leave such an heir. (Cotton Mather, 1853, Magnalia Christi Americana)
  • He was like to lose his life in the one [battle] and his liberty in the other [capture], but there was none of his money at stake in either. (Charles MacFarlane and Thomas Napier Thomson, 1792, Comprehensive History of England)
  • He was in some fear that if he could not bring about the King’s desires, he was like to lose his favor. (Gilbert Burnet, 1679, History of the Reformation of the Church of England)

As a colloquial quotative[edit]

Like is sometimes used colloquially as a quotative to introduce a quotation or impersonation. This is also known as «quotation through simile». The word is often used to express that what follows is not an exact quotation but instead gives a general feel for what was said. In this usage, like functions in conjunction with a verb, generally be (but also say, think, etc.), as in the following examples:[5]

  • He was like, «I’ll be there in five minutes.»
  • She was like, «You need to leave the room right now!»

Like can also be used to paraphrase an implicitly unspoken idea or sentiment:

  • I was like, «Who do they think they are?»

The marking of past tense is often omitted (compare historical present):

  • They told me all sorts of terrible things, and I’m like «Forget it then.»[6]

It is also sometimes used to introduce non-verbal mimetic performances, e.g., facial expressions, hand gestures, body movement, as well as sounds and noises:[7]

  • I was like [speaker rolls eyes].
  • The car was like, «vroom!»

The use of like as a quotative is known to have been around since at least the 1980s.[8]

As a discourse particle, filler or hedge[edit]

History[edit]

The word like has developed several non-traditional uses in informal speech. Especially since the late 20th century onward, it has appeared, in addition to its traditional uses, as a colloquialism across all dialects of spoken English, serving as a discourse particle, filler, hedge, speech disfluency, or other metalinguistic unit.[9] Although these particular colloquial uses of like appear to have become widespread rather recently, its use as a filler is a fairly old regional practice in Welsh English and in Scotland, it was used similarly at least as early as the 19th century. It is traditionally, though not quite every time, used to finish a sentence in the Northern English dialect Geordie.[10] It may also be used in a systemic format to allow individuals to introduce what they say, how they say and think.[11]

Despite such prevalence in modern-day spoken English, these colloquial usages of like rarely appear in writing (unless the writer is deliberately trying to replicate colloquial dialogue) and they have long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. Furthermore, this use of like seems to appear most commonly, in particular, among natively English-speaking children and adolescents, while less so, or not at all, among middle-aged or elderly adults. One suggested explanation for this phenomenon is the argument that younger English speakers are still developing their linguistic competence, and, metalinguistically wishing to express ideas without sounding too confident, certain, or assertive, use like to fulfill this purpose.[9]

In pop culture, such colloquial applications of like (especially in verbal excess) are commonly and often comedically associated with Valley girls, as made famous through the song «Valley Girl» by Frank Zappa, released in 1982, and the film of the same name, released in the following year. The stereotyped «valley girl» language is an exaggeration of the variants of California English spoken by younger generations.

This non-traditional usage of the word has been around at least since the 1950s, introduced through beat (or beatnik) and jazz culture. The beatnik character Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver) in the popular Dobie Gillis TV series of 1959-1963 brought the expression to prominence; this was reinforced in later decades by the character of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo (who was based on Krebs).

Very early use of this locution[citation needed] can be seen in a New Yorker cartoon of 15 September 1928, in which two young ladies are discussing a man’s workplace: «What’s he got – an awfice?» «No, he’s got like a loft.»

It is also used in the 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange by the narrator as part of his teenage slang and in the Top Cat cartoon series from 1961 to 1962 by the jazz beatnik type characters.

A common eye dialect spelling is lyk.

Examples[edit]

Like can be used in much the same way as «um…» or «er…» as a discourse particle. It has become common especially among North American teenagers to use the word «like» in this way, as in Valspeak. For example:

  • I, like, don’t know what to do.

It is also becoming more often used (East Coast Scottish English, Northern England English, Hiberno-English and Welsh English in particular) at the end of a sentence, as an alternative to you know. This usage is sometimes considered to be a colloquial interjection and it implies a desire to remain calm and defuse tension:

  • I didn’t say anything, like.
  • Just be cool, like.

Use of like as a filler has a long history in Scots English, as in Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novel Kidnapped:

«What’ll like be your business, mannie?»
«What’s like wrong with him?» said she at last.

Like can be used as hedge to indicate that the following phrase will be an approximation or exaggeration, or that the following words may not be quite right, but are close enough. It may indicate that the phrase in which it appears is to be taken metaphorically or as a hyperbole. This use of like is sometimes regarded as adverbial, as like is often synonymous here with adverbial phrases of approximation, such as «almost» or «more or less». Examples:

  • I have, like, no money left.
  • The restaurant is only, like, five miles from here.
  • I, like, almost died!

Conversely, like may also be used to indicate a counterexpectation to the speaker, or to indicate certainty regarding the following phrase.[5] Examples:

  • There was, like, a living kitten in the box!
  • This is, like, the only way to solve the problem.
  • I, like, know what I’m doing, okay?

In the UK reality television series Love Island the word ‘like’ has been used an average of 300 times per episode, much to the annoyance of viewers.[12]

See also[edit]

  • Like button

Bibliography[edit]

  • Andersen, Gisle. (1998). The pragmatic marker like from a relevance-theoretic perspective. In A. H. Jucker & Y. Ziv (Eds.) Discourse markers: Descriptions and Theory (pp. 147–70). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
  • Andersen, Gisle. (2000). The role of the pragmatic marker like in utterance interpretation. In G. Andersen & T. Fretheim (Ed.), Pragmatic markers and propositional attitude: Pragmatics and beyond (pp. 79). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
  • Barbieri, Federica. (2005). Quotative use in American English. A corpus-based, cross-register comparison. Journal of English Linguistics, 33, (3), 225-256.
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References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c «Like». Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. ^ «As or like?». Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Seltzer, Leon F (March 7, 2017). «‘I Have Feelings for You,’ Its Eight Different Meanings». Psychology Today. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  4. ^ Tigar, Lindsay (January 19, 2016). «How to Say ‘I Like You’ When You’re Not Ready for ‘I Love You’«. Bustle. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. ^ a b McWhorter, John (November 25, 2016). «The Evolution of ‘Like’«. The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. ^ Quoted from: Daniel P. Cullen, «I’m Learning as I Go, and I Don’t Like That»: Urban Community College Students’ College Literacy, ProQuest, 2008, p. 210.
  7. ^ «Linguists are like, ‘Get used to it!’«. The Boston Globe.
  8. ^ Blyth, Carl; Recktenwald, Sigrid; Wang, Jenny (1990). «I’m like, «Say What?!»: A New Quotative in American Oral Narrative». American Speech. 65 (3): 215–227. doi:10.2307/455910. JSTOR 455910.
  9. ^ a b Andersen, Gisle; Thorstein Fretheim, eds. (2000). Pragmatic Markers and Propositional Attitude. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 31–3. ISBN 9027250987.
  10. ^ Wolfson, Sam (15 May 2022). «Why do people, like, say, ‘like’ so much?». The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2022. But there are more uses than that, for example the Geordie tradition of finishing sentences with a like.
  11. ^ Mesthrie, R., Swann, J., Deumert, A., & Leap, W. (2009). Introducing sociolinguistics. Edinburgh University Press.
  12. ^ Griffiths, Sian; Julie Henry (June 16, 2019). «Like it or not, they can’t stop saying it on Love Island». The Times. London.

External links[edit]

Look up like in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

  • See Fleischman (1998) (JSTOR 30249153) for a parallel discussion of like and the similar discourse particle genre in French.
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