The Spanish word 'como' (meaning 'as', 'like', or 'how') comes from the Latin word 'quomodo', which meant 'how' or 'in what way'. The Latin 'quomodo' itself was formed by combining two Latin words: 'quo' (meaning 'in what way') and 'modo' (meaning 'manner'). Over time, as Latin evolved into Spanish, 'quomodo' was simplified to 'como', but kept its essential meaning of expressing manner or comparison.

While 'como' itself is one of the most basic and common Spanish words, it appears in many Spanish compounds and phrases. For example, 'cómo' (with an accent) is the interrogative form meaning 'how?', and 'comoquiera' means 'however' or 'in whatever way'.

While English 'how' comes from a different root, we can see a similar pattern of combining words to express manner in English phrases like 'in what manner' or 'in what way', which parallel the original Latin construction of 'quomodo'. The English word 'mode' is related to the Latin 'modo' part of the etymology, both referring to a way or manner of doing something.