coulisse

[ koo-lees ]

noun

a timber or the like having a groove for guiding a sliding panel.
Theater.
- the space between two wing flats, leg drops, or the like.
- any space or area backstage.
- wing flat.

Origin of coulisse

1810–20; <French: groove, something that slides in a groove; see portcullis

Words Nearby coulisse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use coulisse in a sentence

The same "sesame" opened to him the coulisse of the Opera and the penetralia of the Franais.
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II (of II) | Charles James Lever
Sale in blank was absolutely forbidden, and in the coulisse business was at a standstill.
New York Times Current History: The European War from the Beginning to March 1915, Vol 1, No. 2 | Various
She comprehended that he was, in many respects, a younger man than many a coulisse-frequenting youth whom she had known.
A Siren | Thomas Adolphus Trollope
A saucy soubrette who might easily have just stepped from the coulisse of a Parisian theater!
The Green Mouse | Robert W. Chambers
Her easy confession of the garden-company opened the trying scene,—almost in the coulisse.
Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2) | Jean Paul Friedrich Richter

British Dictionary definitions for coulisse

coulisse

/ (kuːˈliːs) /

noun

Also called: cullis a timber member grooved to take a sliding panel, such as a sluicegate, portcullis, or stage flat
- a flat piece of scenery situated in the wings of a theatre; wing flat
- a space between wing flats

part of the Paris Bourse where unofficial securities are traded: Compare parquet (def. 4)

Origin of coulisse

C19: from French: groove, from Old French couleïce portcullis

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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