Helot

[ hel-uht, hee-luht ]
See synonyms for Helot on Thesaurus.com
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. helot, a serf or slave; bondman.

Origin of Helot

1
1570–80; <Latin hēlōtēs (plural) <Greek heílōtes

Other words from Helot

  • hel·ot·age, noun

Words Nearby Helot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Helot in a sentence

  • His cheeks bright red, his chin wet with spittle, the Helot would weave and stagger and totter until he passed out in the dirt.

    Persian Fire and Rubicon (Full) | David Frum | September 23, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Little by little, he had become to his wife so indulgent and so affectionate, that the poor Helot felt her heart touched.

    Other People's Money | Emile Gaboriau
  • It may actually have been the unfortunate fall to which the Helot owed his death.

    Atlantis | Gerhart Hauptmann
  • It would be, I expected, such a sight as that which the drunken Helot once presented to the virtuous Spartan youth.

    The Chaplain of the Fleet | Walter Besant and James Rice
  • In the boat were Thorkeld, a Helot of Iona, and two dark wild-eyed men of the north.

British Dictionary definitions for Helot

Helot

/ (ˈhɛlət, ˈhiː-) /


noun
  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

Origin of Helot

1
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 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012