high-maintenance

The compound adjective "high-maintenance" is a modern formation, originating in the latter half of the 20th century. It directly combines the native English intensifier "high," with its ancient Proto-Germanic root hauhaz, and the noun "maintenance," which entered English via French from the Latin phrase manu tenēre (to hold by hand), implying control and upkeep. The term first applied literally to objects like machinery or property that required costly or frequent care. Its logic was then extended metaphorically to describe people whose emotional or material demands necessitate a similarly high level of sustained effort and resources from others, perfectly encapsulating the concept of being demanding in a single, vivid compound.

Structure: high (great in degree) + maintenance (the act of maintaining) - high: From Old English hēah, meaning "tall, lofty, high in position or degree." In this compound, it functions as an intensifier, indicating a great amount or degree. - maintenance: From Old French maintenance, from the verb maintenir (to maintain), itself from Latin manu tenēre (to hold in the hand). In this compound, it functions as the core noun, referring to the act of keeping something in a particular state.