Meaning & use
helot
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A member of a class of serfs in ancient Sparta, bound to the land and owned by the state.
See it in a sentence
The helots vastly outnumbered the Spartan citizens who ruled over them.
Historians debate how brutally the Spartans treated the helots in daily life.
A note on using this word
By extension, 'helot' is sometimes used in modern writing to describe any person or group kept in a state of servitude or subjugation.
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
freeman
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