'ochre-colored' is a compound of 'ochre' + 'colored'. 'ochre' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'ōkhrós' (ὠχρός), where 'ōkhrós' meant 'pale yellow'; 'colored' ultimately comes from Latin 'colorāre' (via Old French 'colorer'), where the root related to 'color'.

'ochre' passed into English via Latin 'ochra' and Old French 'ocre' and became Middle English 'okre' before the modern English 'ochre'; 'colored' came into English from Old French 'colorer' (from Latin 'colorāre'), producing the modern English participial adjective 'colored' and thus the compound 'ochre-colored'.

Initially 'ochre' referred specifically to the natural earth pigment (a pale yellow to reddish-brown earth) and 'colored' meant 'having color'; over time the compound came to mean simply 'having the color of ochre' (a yellowish-brown/reddish-yellow hue).