nice-looking

The compound 'nice-looking' is a relatively modern English formation, emerging in the 19th century. It combines the adjective 'nice', which underwent a remarkable semantic journey from meaning 'ignorant' in Latin to 'precise' and finally 'pleasant' in Modern English, with the present participle 'looking', derived from the Old English verb for seeing. The logic of the word is transparently descriptive: it literally denotes 'having a pleasant appearance'. This compound exemplifies the productive English pattern of creating descriptive adjectives by combining a qualitative adjective with a present participle to describe a state or quality, such as 'good-looking' or 'hard-working'.

Structure: nice (pleasant) + looking (appearing) - nice: From Middle English, originally meaning 'foolish, simple', from Old French 'nice' (silly, simple), from Latin 'nescius' (ignorant). In this compound, it functions as an intensifier meaning 'pleasing, agreeable'. - looking: From the present participle of the verb 'look', from Old English 'lōcian' (to see, gaze). In this compound, it functions to indicate the manner or state of appearance.