Etymology

businesslike

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Today it means: Methodical and efficient, in a way that would be advantageous to a business or businessperson. Full definition →

Proto-Germanic *līką ← Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ← English business
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The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic*bisīg
  2. Old Englishbisiġ
  3. Old Englishbisiġnes
  4. Middle Englishbisynes
  5. Englishbusiness
  6. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  7. Proto-Germanic*līką
  8. English todaybusinesslike

From business + -like.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.