Greek word · G1214

Δημᾶς

dēmas

Demas

A personal name, very likely a short form of a longer Greek name such as Demetrios, Demarchos or Demaratos. Short names ending in -as like this were common in everyday Greek of the period.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

Δημᾶς, ὁ

(perh. contracted from Δημήτριος),

Demas, a companion of St. Paul: Colossians 4:14, Phm 24, 2 Timothy 4:10.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Philemon 1:24

Range of meaning: A personal name, very likely a short form of a longer Greek name such as Demetrios, Demarchos or Demaratos. Short names ending in -as like this were common in everyday Greek of the period.
Against the English: Transliterated in all versions.
Used elsewhere in the period: Col 4:14 ('Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you'); 2 Tim 4:10 ('Demas, having loved this present age, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica'). Short names of this kind turn up in papyri and inscriptions of the Roman period.

From the study of Colossians 4:14

Range of meaning: A personal name, probably a short form of Demetrius or a similar Greek name.
Against the English: No translation difficulty.
Used elsewhere in the period: Philemon 24 lists him among Paul's 'fellow workers.' 2 Timothy 4:10: 'Demas, because he loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.'

Where it appears

Colossians · 1

Colossians 4:14 Δημᾶς.¶ Demas.

Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

Here: Probably a short form of a Greek name such as Demetrius. He is named with no description at all, unlike almost everyone else in this list of greetings.

2 Timothy · 1

2 Timothy 4:10 Δημᾶς Demas

because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

Here: A co-worker of Paul, named alongside Luke in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 as a 'fellow worker'. He stands first in the sentence for emphasis: the one who has left is a trusted colleague, not an outsider.

Philemon · 1

Philemon 1:24 Δημᾶς, Demas,

as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

Here: Probably a short form of a longer Greek name such as Demetrius. Here he stands as one of Paul's recognised co-workers. A later letter says he left Paul, 'having loved this present age' (2 Tim 4:10), but nothing in this verse hints at that.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.