angry-looking

The compound adjective "angry-looking" is a modern English formation that transparently combines two established elements to describe visual appearance. The first element, "angry," originates from the Old Norse word angr, meaning grief or sorrow, which evolved in Middle English to specifically denote the strong emotion of anger. The second element, "looking," derives from the Old English verb lōcian (to look), with the -ing suffix forming a present participle used adjectivally. The compound's logic is entirely literal and syntactic, directly applying the emotion "angry" to the act or result of "looking," thereby creating a descriptor for someone whose facial expression or demeanor conveys anger.

Structure: angry (sense) + looking (sense) - angry: From Old Norse angr (grief, sorrow) via Middle English angri. Functional role: Adjective root describing the emotional state. - looking: From Old English lōcian (to see, gaze) via the present participle suffix -ing. Functional role: Verb-derived suffix indicating appearance or manner.