Hypertext Webster Gateway: "helot"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Helot \He"lot\ (?; 277), n. [L. Helotes, Hilotae, pl., fr. Gr.
E'e`lws and E'elw`ths a bondman or serf of the Spartans; so
named from 'Elos, a town of Laconia, whose inhabitants were
enslaved; or perh. akin to e`lei^n to take, conquer, used as
2d aor. of ?.]
A slave in ancient Sparta; a Spartan serf; hence, a slave or
serf.
Those unfortunates, the Helots of mankind, more or less
numerous in every community. --I. Taylor.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
helot
n : (medieval Europe) a person who is bound to the land and
owned by the feudal lord [syn: {serf}, {villein}]
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