'watercolour' originates from English, specifically formed as a compound of 'water' and 'colour', where 'water' meant 'water' and 'colour' (from Old French 'colour') meant 'color'.

'watercolour' developed in English by combining Middle English 'water' (from Old English 'wæter') with 'colour' (borrowed via Old French from Latin 'color'), and the compound solidified into the modern form 'watercolour' (with variant 'watercolor' in American English).

Initially, the term referred to pigments or paints mixed with water and to works produced with them; over time it has retained that meaning and is used both for the material (paints) and the resulting paintings.