Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A taxonomic genus within the family Meliphagidae — the friarbirds.
  • proper noun biblical The eighteenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of St Paul to a fellow Christian called Philemon.
  • proper noun A male given name, always rather rare.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a New Testament book containing an epistle from Saint Paul to Philemon asking Philemon to forgive the slave for escaping
  • noun (New Testament) a Christian (probably living in Colossae) whose slave escaped and went to see Saint Paul
  • noun (Greek mythology) a simple countryman who offered hospitality to Zeus and Hermes when they came to earth without revealing their identities in order to test people's piety

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek Φιλήμων (Philēmōn), from φιλήμων (philēmōn, "kindly, affectionate"), from φιλέω (phileō, "I love")

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