Likelihood
/ˈlaɪk.li.hʊd/noun
The quality or state of being probable or seeming likely.
Did you know?Likelihood is a later English formation from like plus the suffix -hood, which originally meant a state or condition, so it literally names the “state of being like” rather than any mystical force.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
gelīc
“similar, alike”
Old English
OE
hād
“state, rank, condition”
Middle English
ME
lykliknesse
“likeness; resemblance; probability”
14th-15th Century
English
likelihod
“the condition of being likely; probability”
Modern English
English
likelihood
“the quality or state of being probable”