The compound adjective 'well-told' is a transparent combination of two deeply rooted Germanic elements. 'Well' descends from the Proto-Germanic wel, carrying the core sense of "wish" or "good," which evolved into the adverbial meaning of doing something properly or satisfactorily. 'Told' originates from the Old English tellan, meaning "to count, recount, or narrate," itself from Proto-Germanic taljan. The literal construction "effectively narrated" directly captures the modern abstract meaning, describing a story where the skill of the narration is integral to its quality. This pattern of combining 'well' with a past participle (e.g., well-made, well-written) is a productive feature of English, creating adjectives that comment on the manner in which an action was performed.

Structure: well (effectively) + told (narrated) - well: From Old English wel, meaning "in a good way, satisfactorily, properly." It functions as an adverb modifying the participle. - told: Past participle of the verb tell, from Old English tellan, meaning "to relate, count, recount." It functions as the verbal element in the compound adjective.