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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Helot \He"lot\ (?; 277), noun [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) 2.0 [wn]:
helot
noun: (Middle Ages) a person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord [syn: {serf}, {villein}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
66 Moby Thesaurus words for "helot": apple-polisher, ass-licker, backscratcher, backslapper, bondmaid, bondman, bondslave, bondsman, bondswoman, bootlick, bootlicker, brown-nose, brownie, captive, chattel, chattel slave, churl, clawback, concubine, courtier, creature, cringer, debt slave, dupe, fawner, flatterer, flunky, footlicker, galley slave, groveler, handshaker, homager, instrument, jackal, kowtower, lackey, led captain, lickspit, lickspittle, liege, liege man, liege subject, mealymouth, minion, odalisque, peon, puppet, serf, servant, slave, spaniel, stooge, subject, suck, sycophant, theow, thrall, timeserver, toad, toady, tool, truckler, tufthunter, vassal, villein, yes-man
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