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 or
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 view of obtaining an income or profit; as, to invest
money in bank stock.
In*vest" (?), v. i. To make an
investment; as, to invest in stocks; -- usually followed by
in.
