Etymology

-ical

Today it means: Used to form adjectives from nouns with the meaning "of or pertaining to"; adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. Often added to words of Greek or Latin origin, but used with other words also. Full definition →

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  3. English today-ical

From Middle English -ical, a combination of -ic from Old French -ique, from Latin -icus, related to Ancient Greek suffix Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós), plus -al from Latin adjective suffix -alis, or Old French -el. By surface analysis, -ic + -al.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.