'color-graded' is a modern English compound formed from 'color' + 'grade'. 'Color' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'color' via Old French 'colour', where the root meant 'hue' or 'appearance'. 'Grade' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'gradus' (via Old French 'grade'), where 'gradus' meant 'step' or 'degree'.

'color' passed from Latin 'color' into Old French as 'colour' and then into Middle English as 'colour' before becoming the modern English 'color' (with 'colour' still common in British English). 'Gradus' evolved into Old French 'grade' and then into Middle English 'grade'; the verb use 'to grade' (assign a degree or adjust levels) developed later. The compound 'color-grade' arose in the 20th century with film processing and became widespread with telecine and digital intermediate workflows in the late 20th century.

Initially the roots referred separately to 'hue/appearance' (color) and 'step/degree' (grade). Over time, the compound evolved in film and photography to mean the process of adjusting color characteristics to achieve a desired look; today 'color-graded' specifically describes material that has undergone that process.