'hand-paint' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'hand' and 'paint'. 'Hand' comes from Old English 'hand' meaning 'the body part used for grasping', and 'paint' comes ultimately from Latin via Old French.

'paint' derives from Latin 'pingere' meaning 'to paint' which passed into Vulgar Latin and Old French as 'peindre/peint' and then into Middle English as 'peinten' or 'painten', becoming 'paint' in Modern English. The compound 'hand-paint' developed in Modern English usage to distinguish manual painting from mechanical or industrial methods.

Initially, elements meant 'hand' (the physical hand) and 'paint' (to apply color). The compound always signified applying paint by hand; over time it has kept that core meaning but came to emphasize contrast with machine or automated painting.