Related Searches
Nearby Words

Helot

 [hel-uht, hee-luht]   Origin

Hel·ot

   [hel-uht, hee-luht]
noun
1.
a member of the lowest class in ancient Laconia, constituting a body of serfs who were bound to the land and were owned by the state. Compare Perioeci, Spartiate.
2.
(lowercase) a serf or slave; bondman.
Origin:
1570–80; < Latin hēlōtēs (plural) < Greek heílōtes

Related forms
hel·ot·age, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Helot

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Helot is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
Helot (ˈhɛlət, ˈhiː-)
 
—n
1.  (in ancient Greece, esp Sparta) a member of the class of unfree men above slaves owned by the state
2.  (usually not capital) a serf or slave
 
[C16: from Latin Hēlotēs, from Greek Heilōtes, alleged to have meant originally: inhabitants of Helos, who, after its conquest, were serfs of the Spartans]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

helot
1579, from Gk. Heilotes, pl. of Heilos, popularly assoc. with Helos, Laconian town reduced to serfdom by Sparta, but perhaps related to Gk. halonai "be captured."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT