The word is a modern English compound adjective formed by directly combining two established color names. 'Violet' traces back to the Latin 'viola', the name for the violet flower, which became associated with its characteristic purple-blue hue. 'Blue' has a deep Germanic lineage, related to Old High German 'blāo'. The compound 'violet-blue' follows a common pattern in English for describing intermediate or blended colors, where the first term modifies the second to specify a shade leaning more towards the quality of the initial color. Its logic is purely descriptive, denoting a color that partakes of both violet and blue.

Structure: violet (color) + blue (color) - violet: From Old French 'violette', a diminutive of 'viole' (violet flower), from Latin 'viola'. In this compound, it functions as a color term. - blue: From Old French 'bleu', of Germanic origin. In this compound, it functions as a color term.