Quick Definition
σινιάζω v. I sift, prove by trials
Strong's Definition
from sinion (a sieve); to riddle (figuratively)
KJV Usage: sift
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
verb
46.18 · Household Activities
to sift to sift by shaking in a sieve The expression ὑμᾶς τοῦ σινιάσαι ὡς τὸν σῖτον in LUK 22:31 is clearly a type of figurative usage and in many languages must be translated as ‘to test you’ or ‘to test you so as to separate the good from the bad.’ In some languages, however, it may be more satisfactory to shift the figure from sifting to winnowing and hence translate ‘to winnow you like a farmer who separates the wheat from the chaff.’
1 LUK 22:31 In LUK 22:31 the expression ὑμᾶς τοῦ σινιάσαι ὡς τὸν σῖτον ‘to sift you like wheat’ is semantically complex, for σινιάσαι ὡς τὸν σῖτον ‘to sift like wheat’ must be taken in a literal sense, but when used with the object ὑμᾶς ‘you’ (plural), obviously it is not wheat which is involved, but persons, and therefore the meaning must relate to some type of testing of actions and/or motivations. It is impossible to determine whether the expression σινιάσαι ὡς τὸν σῖτον had actually become an established idiom.
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
σινιάζω: 1 aor. infin. σινιάσαι; (σινίον ‘a sieve,’ ‘winnowing-van’; an eccles. and Byzant. word [ef. Macar. homil. 5 p. 73 sq. (496 a. ed. Migne)]) ; fo sift, shake in α sieve: twa ὡς τὸν σῖτον, i.e., dropping the fig., by inward agitation to try one’s faith to the verge of overthrow, Lk. xxii. 31. (Eccles. writ. [ef. W. 92 (87), 26 (25), and see above].)
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
σινιάζω siniazō 1x
to sift; met. to sift by trials and temptations, Lk. 22:31*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
*† σινιάζω
(< σίνιον, a sieve), = σήθω,
to sift, winnow: fig., Lk 22:31.†
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
σινιάζω (siniazō) — to sift. σινι-άζω, (σινίον) ={σήθω}, sift, winnow, [NT+5th c.AD+]