Quick Definition
ἀποσπάω v. I wrench away from, drag away, withdraw
Strong's Definition
from 575 and 4685; to drag forth, i.e. (literally) unsheathe (a sword), or relatively (with a degree of force implied) retire (personally or factiously)
KJV Usage: (with-)draw (away), after we were gotten from
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
verb | σπάομαι
15.214 · Linear Movement · Pull, Draw, Drag
to pull out, to draw out, to drag to pull or draw away from or out of
31.74 · Hold a View, Believe, Trust · Change an Opinion Concerning Truth
to draw away, to lead away, to lure away to (figurative extension of meaning of ἀποσπάω[a] ‘to pull out, to drag,’ 15.214) to cause a change of belief so as to correspond more with the beliefs of the person or factor causing the change
1 ACT 20:30 In view of the interpersonal relationship implied in the occurrence of ἀποσπάω in ACT 20:30, it would be possible to classify this meaning under the domain of Association (34). 2 ACT 21:1 It is possible to interpret ἀποσπάομαι in ACT 21:1 as referring to the act of saying goodbye, and thus being equivalent to ἀποτάσσομαι[b] (15.55).
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
ἀπο-σπάω, -@; 1 aor. ἀπέσπασα; 1 aor. pass. ἀπεσπάσθην; to draw off, tear away: τ. μάχαιραν to draw one’s sword, Mt. xxvi. 51 (ἐκσπᾶν τ. pay. (or ῥομφαίαν), 1S. xvii. 51 [Alex. ete.]; σπᾶν, 1 Chr. xi. 11; Mk. xiv. 47); ἀποσπᾶν τοὺς μαθητὰς ὀπίσω ἑαυτῶν to draw away the disciples to their own party, Acts xx. 30, (very similarly, Ael. v. ἢ. 13, 32). Pass. reflexively: ἀποσπασθέντες am αὐτῶν having torn ourselves from the embrace of our friends, Acts xxi. 1; ἀπεσπάσθη ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν he parted, tore himself, from them about a stone’s cast, Lk. xxii. 41; cf. Meyer adloc. (In prof. auth. fr. [Pind. and] Hdt. down.)
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
ἀποσπάω apospaō 4x
to draw away from; to draw out or forth, Mt. 26:51; to draw away, seduce, Acts 20:30; to separate one’s self, to part, Lk. 22:41; Acts 21:1*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
ἀπο-σπάω, -ῶ,
[in LXX for נתק: ni., hi., etc.;]
to draw off or away, tear away (MM, s.v.): Ac 20:30; μάχαιραν, draw a sword, Mt 26:51; pass., to be parted or withdrawn (Field, Notes, 134; but v. Thayer, s.v.), Lk 22:41, Ac 21:1.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
ἀποσπάω. For the use of this verb in Ac 20 ἀποσπᾶν τοὺς μαθητὰς ὀπίσω ἑαυτῶν, cf. P Petr IIT. 43(3)?? (iii/B.c.), ἔγραψάς μοι μὴ ἀποσπάσαι τὸ πλήρωμα ἐκ Φιλωτερίδος ἕως οὗ τὰ ἔργα συντελέσαι, “you wrote me not to withdraw the gang (of workmen engaged in the copper mines) from Philoteris before they had finished the work” (Edd.). ‘‘ Withdraw,” with no suggestion of violence, though with breach of contract, is the sense in numerous formal documents. Thus P Oxy IX. 120618 (A.p. 335) in a case of adoption. BGU IV. 1125° (B.C. 13), in the indenture of a slave: οὐκ ἀποσπάσω αὐτὸν ἀπὸ σοῦ [ἐντὸς τοῦ χρόνον. P Oxy II. 275%(a.D. 66), where in ἃ contract of apprenticeship a father is not to have the power of removing his son from his master until the completion of the period—ovk ἐξόντος τῷ Τρύφωνι ἀποσπᾶν τὸν παῖδα ἀπὸ τοῦ ΤΙτολεμαίου μέχρι τοῦ τὸν χρόνον πληρωθῆναι, so and 26. IV. 724! (Α.Ὁ. 155), also X. her son from a man in whose charge he had been left. Add the illiterate P Gen I. 54”, [ο]ὐκ αἰδυνήθημεν ἕνα ἄνθροπον ἀποσπάσαι ἐκεῖθεν, and BGU I. 176° (Hadrian), In the marriage contract, P Oxy III. 496° (A.p. 127), provision is made that in the event of a separation taking place, the bride shall have the power to ‘‘ withdraw” a certain female slave, who forms part of her dowry—érre[Sav] ἡ ἀπαλλαγὴ [γ]ένηται γαμφυ[μέϊνη (sc. ἢ γ.) μὲν ἀποσπάτω τὴν δ[ο)ύλην, and so 15, Perhaps the verb itself must not be credited with the stronger sense imparted by the context in P Oxy I. 37:14 (A.D. 49) λειμανχουμέν[ο]υ τοῦ σωματίου ἀπέσπασεν ὁ Πεσοῦρις, ‘fas the foundling was being starved Pesouris carried it off,” so 11- 1. and still more in 24. 38° (A.D. 49-50), ἐπικεχειρηκότος ἀποσπάσαι εἰς δουλαγωγία[ν] Tov ἀφήλικά μου υἱόν. The passive, as in Lk 224, Ac 211, appears in an inscr. from the Fayim (B.c. 57-6) in Chrest. I. 704 (p. 99), οὐ δυνάμενοι δὲ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἀποσπᾶσθαι, which in Wilcken’s opinion means no more than the detention of these priests in the temple by ritual duties, preventing them from appearing in person. It would seem that the ordinary use of this verb does not encourage the stronger meaning Grimm finds in the Lucan passages, where the RV is adequate. For ἀποσπᾶν c. acc. vei, see Gosp. Petr. 61 (ed. Swete), ἀπέσπασαν τοὺς ἥλους.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
ἀποσπάω (apospaō) — to draw away. ἀπο-σπάω, future -σπάσω [ᾰ], tear or drag away from, τινός[Refs 5th c.BC+] tear a thing from one, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀ. τινά tear him away, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀ. τι τῆς λείας detach, abstract some of it, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; and reversely also ἀ. τῆς φρενὸς αἵ μοι μόναι παρῆσαν ἐλπίδων[Refs]; detach, withdraw, πλήρωμα a gang of labourers, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; τινὰ ἀπό τινος[NT+5th c.BC+]middle, τὴν μάχην οὕτω μακρὰν τῆς ναυτικῆς βοηθείας[Refs 1st c.AD+]:—passive, to be dragged away, detached, separated from, τινός[Refs 5th c.BC+]; of a bone, to be torn off, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
2. ἀ. τινὰ κόμης drag away by the hair, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
3. ἀ. πύλας, θύρας, tear off the gates, doors, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
4. ἀ. τὸ στρατόπεδον draw off, divert the army, [Refs 5th c.BC+]having drawn off, [Refs]:—passive, of troops, to become separated or broken, [Refs 5th c.BC+]
5. withdraw, reclaim, [Refs]
6. ἀπεσπασμένος, ὁ, eunuch, [LXX]
II. intransitive (i.e. ἑαυτόν), separate (i.e. be separated) from, [Refs 5th c.BC+]