grim-looking

The compound adjective 'grim-looking' is a relatively modern English formation, combining two elements of Germanic heritage. The first element, 'grim', descends from the Old English grimm, meaning fierce or cruel, a term with deep Proto-Germanic roots conveying severity and terror. The second element, 'looking', originates from the Old English verb lōcian, meaning to see or gaze. When combined, the literal sense of "appearing in a fierce/severe manner" directly conveys the modern abstract meaning of having a stern, forbidding, or threatening appearance. This transparent compounding follows a common English pattern where an adjective describing a quality is attached to a present participle to describe the manifestation of that quality.

Structure: grim (stern) + looking (appearing) - grim: From Old English grimm (fierce, severe, cruel), of Germanic origin. - looking: From the present participle of the verb look, from Old English lōcian (to see, gaze).