'spotted-leafed' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound of 'spotted' and 'leafed', where 'spotted' ultimately comes from Old English 'spot' meaning 'mark' combined with the past-participle/adjectival suffix '-ed', and 'leafed' is formed from Old English 'lēaf' meaning 'leaf' plus the adjectival suffix '-ed' meaning 'having'.

'spotted' developed from Old English 'spot' (and its derived past-participle form) and through Middle English became 'spotted'; 'leaf' comes from Old English 'lēaf' (Middle English 'lef/leaf'); the descriptive compound 'spotted-leafed' is a Modern English formation combining these elements to describe foliage.

Initially the elements meant 'marked' (spot) and 'leaf'; combined they originally meant 'having marked leaves' and this descriptive sense has been retained in modern usage as 'having spotted leaves.'