'well-recorded' is a modern English compound formed by the adverb 'well' plus the past participle 'recorded' (from the verb 'record'). 'well' originates from Old English 'wel' meaning 'in a good or satisfactory manner'. 'record' comes from Latin via Old French; the verb sense developed from the Latin 'recordari' meaning 'to recall, remember'.

'record' originates from Latin 'recordari' (to recall), passed into Old French as 'recorder' and Middle English as 'recorden', becoming the modern English verb 'record'. The past participle 'recorded' was then combined with 'well' in modern English to form the adjectival compound 'well-recorded'.

Originally, Latin 'recordari' meant 'to recall or bring to mind'; over time the sense shifted toward making or preserving a report or account, leading to the modern meaning of 'to set down information' — and 'well-recorded' now means 'recorded in a good or thorough manner'.