PAL

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus

_ (the underscore) is the placeholder for exactly one character.
% (the percent sign) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character.
%% (two percent signs) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character, but not for blank space (so that a search ends at word boundaries).

At the beginning and at the end, these placeholders are superfluous.

مثل ‘similar’

Arabic

References: Plan. Sidoli+Berggren: 411, 450
Modern translations:
English: similar [Plan. Sidoli+Berggren: ?]
Synonyms:
متشابه[Alm. MS Leiden: f. 16r. – Alm. MS Tunis: 21a.19]
متشابه[Plan. Hyp.: II.10]