Quick Definition
πιάζω v. I lay hold of
Strong's Definition
to squeeze, i.e. seize (gently by the hand (press), or officially (arrest), or in hunting (capture))
Derivation: probably another form of G971 (βιάζω);
KJV Usage: apprehend, catch, lay hand on, take
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
verb | πιέζω
18.3 · Attachment · Grasp, Hold
to take hold of, to seize, to catch, to grasp firmly to take hold of firmly and with a considerable measure of force
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
πιάζω (Doric for πιέζω, cf. B. 66 (58)): 1 aor. ἐπίασα; 1 aor. pass. ἐπιάσθην ; 1. to lay hold of: twa τῆς χειρός, Acts iii. 7 [Theoer. 4, 35]. 2. to take, capture: fishes, Jn. xxi. 3, 10; θηρίον, pass., Rev. xix. 20, (Cant. ii. 15). to take i.e. apprehend: a aay! Ee order to imprison him, Jn. vii. 30, 32, 44; viii. 20; x. 39; xi. 57; Acts xii. 4; 2 Co. xi. 32. [Come.: inorruite
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
πιάζω piazō 12x
to press; in NT to take or lay hold of, Acts 3:7; to take, catch fish, etc., Jn. 21:3, 10; Rev. 19:20; to take, seize, apprehend, arrest, Jn. 7:30, 32, 44
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
πιάζω
(cf. MGr. πιάνω; v. Kennedy, Sources, 155), Doric and late Att. for πιέζω in its later senses; [in LXX: Ca 2:15 (אחז), Si 23:21*;]
to lay hold of: Ac 3:7 (Theocr.).
to take, capture, apprehend: Jo 7:30, 32, 44 8:20 10:39 11:57 21:3, 10, Ac 12:4, II Co 11:32, Re 19:20 (v. MM, xx).†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
πιάζω. This Doric form of πιέζω (g.v.) appears in all the NT occurrences of the verb except Lk 655, but always with the different meaning ‘‘seize,’’ ‘‘lay hold of.’’ For this meaning in the Kown we may cite the magic spell κλέπτην πιάσαι, ‘to catch a thief,’ in P Lond 461 (iv/aA.p.) (=I. p. 70): cf. Patr. Orient. iv. Wessely gives λῃστοπιάστης, ‘“‘preneur de malfaiteurs’ from a Roman papyrus of the time of Diocletian. Unfortunately the letter P Oxy IV. 812 (8.6. 5) is too fragmentary to decide the meaning of πεπίασται Aoxplov in the postscript: but cf. P Hamb I. 615 (a.p. 128-9) ot δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς κώμης χρῶνται τοῖς αὐ[τ]οῖς ὑποδοχίοις, ὑφ᾽ ὧν κ[αὶ] ὁ ἀπότακτος αὐτῶν φόρος διαγράφεται πιαζώμενος ὑπό σου. 2, p. 132f. where a πικρία From a later period comes πιάσαι = λαβεῖν in P Lond 4837° (A.D. 616) (=II. p. 328) πιάσαι ὀψάρια, cited by C. H. Muller in Archiv i. p. 439 as characteristic of the transition from ancient to modern Greek, in which ἔπιασα is aor. of πιάνω, “catch,” ‘seize,’ ‘‘overtake.” For Ac 37 we may quote (with Thayer) Theocritus iv. 35 τηνεῖ kal τὸν ταῦρον am dpeos dye πιάξας | Tas ὁπλᾶς, ‘there he brought the bull from the mountain, seizing it by the hoof.”” Thumb (He//enx. p. 67 n.1) accepts W. Schmid’s view that πιάζω has been assimilated to the numerous verbs in -άζω : cf. also Schweizer Perg. p. 37. If the differentiation took place in one dialect—say that of the bucolics of Sicily —we can understand the word passing into the Kowy as a kind of slang loanword, while πιέζω lived on awhile with its old meaning. The uses of πιάζω and πιέζω in the LXX are stated by Thackeray Gr. i. p. 282.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
πιάζω (piazō) — to arrest/catch. πῐέζω, imperfect ἐπίεζον, Epic dialect πίεζον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: future πιέσω [Refs 4th c.BC+]; Epic dialect πιέσσω [Refs 4th c.AD+]: aorist ἐπίεσα [Refs 5th c.BC+] (but subjunctive πιέξῃς [Refs 5th c.BC+], infinitive πιέξαι [Refs 4th c.BC+]participle πιέξας (variant{πιάξας}) [Refs 2nd c.BC+]: perfect πεπίεκα [Refs 2nd c.BC+]:—passive, future πιεσθήσομαι [Refs 2nd c.AD+] (δια-), Heliod cited in [Refs 4th c.AD+]: aorist ἐπιέσθην [Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect πεπίεσμαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]—From πῐεζέω we have πιεζέουσι variant in [Refs]imperfect πιέζευν variant in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle πιεζεῦντα [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, participle πιεζεύμενος [Refs 5th c.BC+] (always with variant -όμενος), [Refs 5th c.BC+]: imperfect ἐπιεζοῦντο [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; so in later Gr., as [Refs 1st c.AD+]; Doric dialect, Aeolic dialect, and later Gr. πῐάζω [Refs 7th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἐπίᾰσα [LXX+NT+3rd c.BC+]passive, future πιασθήσομαι [LXX]: aorist ἐπιάσθην [NT]: perfect πεπίασμαι [Refs 1st c.BC+]:—press tight, squeeze, χειρὶ ἑλὼν ἐπίεζε βραχίονα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἀστεμφέως ἐχέμεν μᾶλλόν τε π. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; π. τὰ χείλεα compress them, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ῥύγχος εἰς ὄξος π. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; π. τοὺς ὑπευθύνους squeezing them (like figs), to try if they are ripe, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, to be pressed tight, ἐν δεσμοῖς [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of wrestlers, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; πιέζεται ὅσα πόρους ἔχει κενούς are compressible, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
II. press or weigh down, of a heavy weight, Σικελία αὐτοῦ π. στέρνα [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—and in passive, ὁ δ᾽ ὦμος.. πιέζεται [Refs 5th c.BC+]: metaphorically, oppress, distress, π. τινὰ ἡ δαπάνη [Refs 5th c.BC+]; συμφορὰ δ᾽ἑτέρους ἑτέρα π. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. ἡ ἀνάγκη[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—frequently in passive, ὑπὸ νούσοισι [Refs 6th c.BC+]; of a river, to be exhausted from the heat of the sun, [Refs]
II.2. press hard, of a victorious army, τοὺς ἐναντίους [Refs] —passive, τὴν πιεζομένην μάλιστα τῶν μοιρέων[Refs 5th c.BC+]
II.3. bear hardly upon, τινα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of a point in the argument, hold fast to, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; press it, [Refs 2nd c.BC+] [same place], etc.; lay stress on, [Refs 1st c.AD+]: with dative, insist upon, τοῖσι περιπάτοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]
II.3. b determine precisely, ἀποστήματα [Refs 5th c.AD+]; π. δεῖ πῶς ἓν ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἕτερον [Refs 3rd c.AD+]
II.4. repress, stifle, ἐν θυμῷ χόλον [Refs 5th c.BC+]
II.5. outweigh, τἀγαθῷ τὸ δυστυχές [Refs 5th c.BC+]
III. later, lay hold of, ταῦρον.. πιάξας τᾶς ὁπλᾶς by the hoof, [NT+3rd c.BC+]