'wall-eyed' originates from English, specifically a compound of 'wall' + 'eye', where 'wall' here reflects an old sense of 'turned toward a surface' and 'eye' meant 'eye'.

'wall-eyed' developed in Middle to Early Modern English as a descriptive compound (literally 'wall' + 'eye') and was used of animals and people whose eyes appeared turned or with a whitish film; the noun form 'walleye' later became established for the fish.

Originally a literal compound describing the eye's appearance or direction ('eye toward the wall' / turned outward), the term broadened to describe cloudy or pale eyes in animals and contributed to the fish name 'walleye'; its modern use is largely descriptive and specialized.