noun
sexual passion; lust; the path of carnal desire
A somewhat literary or old-fashioned term for sexual desire, often with a connotation of being led astray by passion. Not an everyday word; more likely to appear in historical or dramatic contexts.
彼は色道に溺れて身を持ち崩した。
He ruined himself by indulging in sexual passion.
Compound of 色 (shiki, 'color; sexual passion') and 道 (dō, 'way; path'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it follows a pattern of using 道 to denote a specialized pursuit or path, as in 茶道 (sadō, 'tea ceremony') or 武士道 (bushidō, 'way of the warrior').