Helot
/ˈhɛlət/noun
A member of a class of unfree serfs in ancient Sparta.
Did you know?The origin of helot is uncertain, but ancient writers already treated it as a label for a conquered, enslaved population, and the word became a symbol of Sparta’s brutal social order.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Heilōtēs / Heílōtes
“A member of the oppressed, unfree population of Sparta”
Classical Antiquity
Greek
Heilōtai
“Collective term for the state-owned serf class in Laconia and Messenia”
Late Antiquity / Medieval Scholarly Latin
Latin
helotes / helotae
“Learned borrowing referring to Spartan serfs”
16th–17th Century
English
helot
“A Spartan serf; later, any person in a condition of servitude”
Modern English
English
helot
“A member of the unfree serf class of ancient Sparta”