nasty-looking

the compound adjective 'nasty-looking' is a relatively modern formation, combining two english elements. the first element, 'nasty', entered english in the late 14th century with connotations of filth and unpleasantness, its precise origin obscured but likely influenced by old french. the second element, 'looking', derives from the old english verb for seeing, used here in its participial form to denote the act or state of appearing. when combined, the literal sense of 'appearing in an unpleasant manner' creates a straightforward descriptive term for an unattractive or threatening exterior, illustrating english's productive capacity for forming compound modifiers.

Structure: nasty (unpleasant) + looking (appearing) nasty (from middle english, meaning 'foul, dirty', of uncertain origin, possibly from old french 'nestre' meaning 'bad, strange') + looking (from old english 'lōcian' meaning 'to see, gaze', functioning as a present participle suffix to form a compound adjective)