colorati

Colorati is an Italian term that primarily functions as an adjective and, less commonly, as a substantive form in plural. It derives from colore (color) with the participial suffix -ato, yielding colorato meaning colored; colorati is the masculine plural or mixed-gender plural form.

As an adjective, colorati describes objects or surfaces that have color or have been colored. Examples include muri colorati (colored walls), tessuti colorati (colorful fabrics), or vestiti colorati (colorful clothes). The feminine plural form is colorate, used with feminine nouns. The masculine singular is colorato and the feminine singular is colorata.

As a noun, colorati is not a standard standalone term in modern Italian and is rarely used to denote a specific group; when it occurs as a noun, it tends to be in poetic or stylistic contexts to mean “the colored ones.” Such usage is uncommon and should be avoided in formal writing to prevent ambiguity.

Etymology and related terms: Colorati comes from colore and the suffix -ato. Related words include colorato (colored), colorazione (coloration), policrome (polychrome), and variopinto (multicolored).

Usage notes: In contemporary Italian, it is typically clearer to use colorato or variopinto to describe color characteristics. When colorati is used, it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. The term is not a standard proper noun or ethnic descriptor in standard usage.