The compound adjective 'white-painted' is a transparent combination of two English elements. 'White' descends from the Proto-Germanic hwītaz, related to light and brightness, which itself stems from the Proto-Indo-European root ḱweyt- meaning 'to shine'. 'Painted' originates from the Latin pingere 'to paint', via Old French. The modern compound follows a straightforward descriptive logic common in English, where an adjective ('white') specifies the quality of the material applied in the participial action ('painted'), directly indicating an object's finished state as coated with white color.

Structure: white (color) + painted (coated) - white: From Old English hwīt, meaning 'bright, radiant, pale'. It functions as an adjective describing a color. - painted: From the past participle of the verb paint, derived from Old French peint, meaning 'coated with color'. It functions as a participial adjective indicating the action has been applied.