An archaic or poetic exclamation expressing sorrow, regret, or lamentation, similar to 'alas.'
From Old French helas, a variant of 'alas,' itself derived from Latin, expressing grief or distress; found in medieval and Renaissance poetry as a dramatic expression of woe.
You'll find 'helas' in old poetry and Shakespeare's works, where it's used for dramatic effect to show a character's despair—it's essentially 'alas' dressed up in fancy clothes from the 1500s.
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