'color-insensitive' originates from Modern English, formed by combining 'color' (from Latin 'color' via Old French 'color') and 'insensitive' (from Latin elements via Old French/Latin 'insensitivus'), where the prefix 'in-' meant 'not' and the root 'sensitivus' derived from Latin 'sentire' meant 'to feel'.

'color' passed from Latin 'color' into Old French 'color' and Middle English 'colour' before becoming the modern English 'color/colour'; 'insensitive' developed from Latin 'insensitivus' through Old French/Medieval Latin forms into Middle English 'insensiteve' and the modern English 'insensitive'. The compound 'color-insensitive' is a modern English formation combining the two elements.

Initially the elements meant 'hue' (for 'color') and 'not feeling' (for 'in- + sensitive'); together they have consistently conveyed the idea 'not sensitive to color' in modern usage.