from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Invest \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}.]
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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.
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2. To put on. [Obs.]
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Can not find one this girdle to invest. --Spenser.
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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.
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I do invest you jointly with my power. --Shak.
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4. To surround, accompany, or attend.
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Awe such as must always invest the spectacle of the
guilt. --Hawthorne.
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5. To confer; to give. [R.]
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It investeth a right of government. --Bacon.
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6. (Mil.) To inclose; to surround or hem in with troops, so
as to intercept reinforcements of men and provisions and
prevent escape; to lay siege to; as, to invest a town.
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7. To lay out (money or capital) in business with the view of
obtaining an income or profit; as, to invest money in bank
stock.
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8. Hence: To expend (time, money, or other resources) with a
view to obtaining some benefit of value in excess of that
expended, or to achieve a useful pupose; as, to invest a
lot of time in teaching one's children.
[PJC]