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Helot

 - 3 dictionary results

Hel⋅ot

  [hel-uht, hee-luht]
Use Helot in a Sentence
–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; < L hēlōtēs (pl.) < Gk heílōtes

Related forms:
hel⋅ot⋅age, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Helot
hel·ot   (hěl'ət)   
n.  

  1. Helot One of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta, neither a slave nor a free citizen.

  2. A person in servitude; a serf.


[From Greek Heilōtes, pl. of Heilōs, Heilōt-.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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