WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

Philemon
    n 1: (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
    2: (New Testament) a Christian (probably living in Colossae)
       whose slave escaped and went to see Saint Paul
    3: a New Testament book containing an epistle from Saint Paul to
       Philemon asking Philemon to forgive the slave for escaping
       [syn: Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Philemon, Epistle to
       Philemon, Philemon]

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

Philemon
   an inhabitant of Colosse, and apparently a person of some note
   among the citizens (Col. 4:9; Philemon 1:2). He was brought to a
   knowledge of the gospel through the instrumentality of Paul
   (19), and held a prominent place in the Christian community for
   his piety and beneficence (4-7). He is called in the epistle a
   "fellow-labourer," and therefore probably held some office in
   the church at Colosse; at all events, the title denotes that he
   took part in the work of spreading a knowledge of the gospel.


Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's):

Philemon, who kisses