'muddy-colored' originates from English, specifically a compound of 'muddy' and 'colored', where 'muddy' comes from 'mud' + the adjective-forming suffix '-y' meaning 'like mud' and 'colored' comes from 'color' meaning 'having a color'.

'mud' appeared in Middle English as 'mudde'/'mude' (of Germanic origin), 'muddy' was formed by adding '-y' to mean 'like mud'; 'color' entered English via Old French 'colour' from Latin 'color', leading to the adjective 'colored'; the compound form 'muddy-colored' developed in modern English as a straightforward descriptive compound.

Initially, elements like 'mud' and 'muddy' described actual mud or qualities of mud; over time the compound came to be used specifically to describe color — 'having the dull brown/turbid color of mud'.