n. Music 1. The ornamentation of music written for the voice with florid passages, especially trills and runs. 2. Vocal music characterized by florid ornamental passages. 3. A singer, especially a soprano, specializing in such ornamentation. [Obsolete Italian, from Late Latin colōrātūra, coloring, from Latin colōrātus, past participle of colōrāre, to color, from color, color; see COLOR.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.