'matte-fruited' is a Modern English compound formed from 'matte' (meaning 'dull, non-glossy') + 'fruit' with the adjectival suffix '-ed'; the compound arose in horticultural/botanical descriptive usage in modern English.

'matte' changed from Old French 'mat' and entered Middle/Modern English as 'matte' (sense of dull or matted surface); 'fruit' changed from Latin 'fructus' → Old French 'fruit' → Middle English 'fruit' and remained as 'fruit' in Modern English. The compound 'matte-fruited' was formed by combining these elements with '-ed' in Modern English.

Initially, 'matte' meant something like 'matted' or 'beaten' in earlier stages but shifted to the surface quality sense 'dull, without gloss'; 'fruit' originally meant 'enjoyment, produce' in Latin ('fructus') and evolved to the botanical sense 'fruit' in modern usage. The compound now specifically denotes 'fruit with a dull surface.'