'silver-looking' originates from English, specifically a compound of the adjective 'silver' and the present participle 'looking', where 'silver' referred to the metal and its color and 'look' meant 'to have the appearance of'.

'silver' changed from Old English word 'seolfor' (also spelled 'seolfur') and via Middle English became modern English 'silver'; 'look' comes from Old English 'lōcian'/'locian' and developed into the modern verb 'look', and the compound 'silver-looking' is formed by combining these modern elements.

Initially each element referred to the metal ('silver') and to appearance ('look'); as a compound it has retained the straightforward sense of 'appearing like silver' into modern usage.