The compound adjective 'too-high' is a transparent combination of two native English elements. The adverb 'too', tracing back to the Old English preposition/adverb 'tō', developed an intensifying sense of excess by the 16th century. The adjective 'high', from the Old English 'hēah', is a fundamental Germanic term for elevation, related to the Proto-Indo-European root keuk- meaning 'to bend, curve, arch'. The logic of the compound is entirely literal and syntactic: 'too' modifies 'high' to indicate a degree of height that surpasses a desirable or permissible limit. This straightforward construction exemplifies how English readily forms descriptive compounds by combining familiar modifying and descriptive words to express precise qualitative states.

Structure: too (excessively) + high (elevated) - too: From Old English 'tō', meaning 'to, in the direction of, for the purpose of; also, too, excessively'. In this compound, it functions as an intensifying adverb meaning 'more than enough; excessively'. - high: From Old English 'hēah', meaning 'of great height, tall, lofty'. It functions as an adjective describing a large vertical extent or elevated position.