rough-looking

The compound 'rough-looking' is a relatively modern English formation, combining two native Germanic elements. The first element, 'rough', descends from the Proto-Germanic rūhaz, conveying a primary sense of shagginess and lack of smoothness. The second element, 'looking', originates from the Old English verb for seeing, but in this participial form, it shifts to denote the visual impression given by the subject. The compound's logic is transparently descriptive: it literally means "appearing to be rough," where 'rough' has semantically expanded from physical texture to encompass a general impression of being unkempt, rugged, or unpolished.

Structure: rough (coarse/uneven) + looking (appearing) - rough: From Old English rūh, meaning "coarse, shaggy, hairy, untrimmed." In this compound, it functions as an adjective describing a quality. - looking: From the present participle of the verb look (Old English lōcian, "to see, gaze"). In this compound, it functions as a quasi-suffix meaning "having the appearance of."