The compound adjective 'storm-tossed' is a vivid metaphorical construct native to English. Its first element, 'storm', descends from a robust Old English noun capturing nature's fury. The second element, 'tossed', employs a verb of Middle English origin that evokes a sense of helpless, chaotic motion. When combined, the term literally describes a ship or object violently thrown about by a storm at sea. This powerful physical imagery was naturally extended to describe human experiences, giving rise to the figurative meaning of being emotionally or psychologically battered by life's turbulent events. The logic of the word moves seamlessly from a concrete, meteorological context to an abstract, psychological one.

Structure: storm (violent weather) + tossed (thrown about) - storm: From Old English 'storm', meaning "violent disturbance of the atmosphere, tempest." Its Proto-Germanic root sturmaz- implies "noise, tumult." - tossed: Past participle of the verb 'toss', from a late Middle English origin of unknown etymology, meaning "to throw, fling, or be thrown about lightly or carelessly."