'charcoal-colored' originates from Modern English, formed by compounding the noun 'charcoal' and the participial adjective 'colored', where 'charcoal' referred to burned wood and 'colored' is derived from 'color' meaning hue or tint.

'charcoal-colored' was created in modern English by joining 'charcoal' (a Middle English word for burned wood or coal) with 'colored' (from Old French and Latin roots related to 'color'), resulting in the descriptive compound 'charcoal-colored'.

Initially, 'charcoal' primarily referred to burnt wood used as fuel; over time it came to denote a distinctive dark gray shade, and 'charcoal-colored' came to mean 'having that dark gray color'.