'orange-red' originates from a Modern English compound of the color names 'orange' and 'red'.

'orange' entered English from Old French 'orenge' (via Medieval Latin), originally from Arabic 'nāranj' (from Persian 'nārang' and Sanskrit 'nāraṅga'); 'red' comes from Old English 'rēad', from Proto-Germanic '*rauthaz'. These elements were combined in Modern English to form the descriptive compound 'orange-red'.

Initially, the elements referred separately to the colors 'orange' and 'red'; the compound was coined in modern usage to name the intermediate hue and has retained that descriptive meaning.