n. a visual inspection; look
"To take a look-see" means to check something out.
This term, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary, entered the
English language via Chinese Pidgin English, from a direct translation of "看見", each letter translating to "look" and "see". It is agreed by etymologists that "
long time no see", "no pain no gain", "can do / no can do" have the same origin.
(Commonly misspelled as "looksie".)