What is "colorature"

Colorature \Col"or*a*ture\ (?; 135), n. [Cf. G. coloratur, fr. LL. coloratura.] (Mus.) Vocal music colored, as it were, by florid ornaments, runs, or rapid passages.

n. (context music English) An elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries, with runs, trills, leaps, etc.