In*vest" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Invested; p. pr. & vb. n. Investing.] [L. investire, investitum; pref. in- in + vestire to clothe, fr. vestis clothing: cf. F. investir. See Vest.]
1.
To put garments on; to clothe; to dress; to array; -- opposed to divest. Usually followed by with, sometimes by in; as, to invest one with a robe.
2.
To put on.
[Obs.]
Can not find one this girdle to invest.
Spenser.
3.
To clothe, as with office or authority; to place in possession of rank, dignity, or estate; to endow; to adorn; to grace; to bedeck; as, to invest with honor or glory; to invest with an estate.
I do invest you jointly with my power.
Shak.
4.
To surround, accompany, or attend.
Awe such as must always invest the spectacle of the guilt.
Hawthorne.
5.
To confer; to give.
[R.]
It investeth a right of government.
Bacon.
6. Mil.
To inclose; to surround of hem in with troops, so as to intercept succors of men and provisions and prevent escape; to lay siege to; as, to invest a town.
7.
To lay out (money or capital) in business with the iew of obtaining an income or profit; as, to invest money in bank stock.
© Webster 1913.
In*vest" (?), v. i.
To make an investment; as, to invest in stocks; -- usually followed by in.
© Webster 1913.