Likewise
adverbIn the same way, or in addition; also or similarly.
How to spell likewise
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce likewise
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does likewise mean?
- adverbIn the same way, or in addition; also or similarly.
Likewise in a sentence
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The senior staff took a pay cut, and the managers were expected to do likewise.
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She signed the contract, and her business partner did likewise a moment later.
Where does likewise come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Likewise grew out of the older English phrase 'in like wise', meaning 'in a similar way'. The first part, 'like', comes from Old English gelic, meaning 'similar' or 'having the same form'. The second part is the noun 'wise' in its old sense of 'way, manner or fashion', which descends from Old English wise and is a cousin of the German Weise; this is the same 'wise' that survives in 'clockwise' and 'otherwise'. Over the 1400s the three-word phrase was squeezed into a single adverb, and the worn-down noun 'wise' became the familiar suffix -wise that we now attach freely to other words. The spelling trap is that this -wise ending is completely unrelated to the adjective 'wise' meaning 'sensible'; it simply preserves the medieval word for 'manner', which is why likewise is written as one solid word rather than two.
How the word is built
- like (similar, same)
- -wise (suffix meaning 'in the manner/direction of', from Old English wise 'way, manner')
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