definitions

helotry

[ hel-uh-tree, hee-luh- ]
/ ˈhɛl ə tri, ˈhi lə- /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR helotry ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

serfdom; slavery.
helots collectively.

RELATED WORDS

bondage, labor, enslavement, servitude, captivity, serfdom, subjugation, yoke, enthrallment, thralldom, restraint, work, thrall, grind, drudgery, indenture, drudge, toil, subjection, peonage

Nearby words

heloma molle, helophyte, helot, helotism, helotomy, helotry, help, help oneself, help out, help screens, helper

Origin of helotry

First recorded in 1820–30; Helot + -ry
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for helotry

  • The State is but a gigantic Sparta, in which the helotry are marked by an indelible difference of color and race from the masters.

    The Civil War in America|William Howard Russell

  • But, after all, their State is a modern Sparta—an aristocracy resting on a helotry, and with nothing else to rest upon.

    The Civil War in America|William Howard Russell

  • But, after all, their state is a modern Sparta—an aristocracy resting on a helotry, and with nothing else to rest upon.

    Pictures of Southern Life|William Howard Russell

British Dictionary definitions for helotry

helotry

/ (ˈhɛlətrɪ, ˈhiː-) /

noun

serfdom or slavery
serfs or slaves as a class
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