Arch. Also killis, killesse. [a. F. coulisse furrow, groove, gutter, etc., subst. use of fem. of coulis adj.: see prec. and COULISSE.] A gutter, groove or channel. Also attrib., as cullis roof (see quot. 1875).
1838. Britton, Dict. Archit., 216. Cullis, a gutter in a roof; a groove or channel.
1849. Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc., X. I. 178. Placed in a barn or ricked in some exposed part with cullis roof, where it will keep dry.
1875. Parker, Concise Gloss. Archit., Killesse, also Cullis, Coulisse (Fr.), a gutter, groove, or channel…. This term is in some districts corruptly applied to a hipped roof by country carpenters, who speak of a killessed or cullidged roof. A dormer window is also sometimes called a killesse or cullidge window. ¶ See also KILLIS.
