To look means to direct your eyes toward something so you can see it. As a noun, it can also mean someone’s expression or appearance at a particular moment.
It comes from Old English “lōcian,” meaning “to see” or “to behold,” related to other Germanic words for watching or observing. The basic sense of directing vision has stayed the same.
We say “look” even when we mean “think,” as in “That looks wrong to me,” showing how closely we link seeing with understanding. A single look between people can carry more meaning than a long sentence, because our brains are experts at reading tiny facial signals.
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