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Origin and history of invest

invest(v.)

late 14c., "to clothe in the official robes of an office," from Latin investire "to clothe in, cover, surround," from in "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in") + vestire "to dress, clothe," from PIE *wes- (2) "to clothe," extended form of root *eu- "to dress."

The meaning "use money to produce profit" is attested from 1610s in connection with the East Indies trade, and it is probably a borrowing of a special use of Italian investire (13c., from the same Latin root) via the notion of giving one's capital a new form. The figurative sense of "to clothe (with attributes)" is from c. 1600. The military meaning "to besiege, surround with hostile intent" also is from c. 1600. Related: Invested; investing.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to invest

investiture(n.)

late 14c., "ceremony of clothing in the insignia of office," from Medieval Latin investitura "an investing," from past participle stem of Latin investire "to clothe" (see invest). Related: Investive.

investment(n.)

1590s, "act of putting on vestments" (a sense now found in investiture); later "act of being invested with an office, right, endowment, etc." (1640s); and "surrounding and besieging" of a military target (1811); from invest + -ment.

Commercial sense of "an investing of money or capital" is from 1610s, originally in reference to the East India Company; general use is from 1740 in the sense of "conversion of money to property in hopes of profit," and by 1837 in the sense "amount of money invested." For evolution of the commercial senses, see invest.

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Trends of invest

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

divest
1560s, devest (modern spelling is c. 1600), "strip of possessions," from French devester "strip of possessions" (Old French desvestir), from des- "away" (see dis-) + vestir "to clothe," from Latin vestire "to clothe" (from PIE *wes- (2) "to clothe," extended form of root *eu- "to
seat
c. 1200, sete, "thing to sit on; place one sits," from Old Norse sæti "seat, position," both from Proto-Germanic *sæt- (source also of Old High German saze, Middle Dutch gesaete "seat," Old High German gisazi, German Gesäß "buttocks"), from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit." Old Englis
dignify
early 15c., dignifien, "invest with honor or dignity, exalt in rank or office," also "deem suitable," from Old French dignefiier...
speculate
The meaning "invest money upon risk for the sake of profit" is from 1785. Related: Speculated; speculating....
belay
"to secure or fasten," from Old English belecgan, which, among other senses ("cover, invest, surround; afflict; accuse"),...
semantic
Semanticize "invest (something) with meaning; analyze semantically" is by 1942....
prod
1530s, "to poke with a stick," of uncertain origin; possibly [Barnhart, Century Dictionary] a variant of brod, from Middle English brodden "to goad," from Old Norse broddr "shaft, spike" (see brad), or perhaps imitative [OED]. Compare dialectal prog "pointed instrument for poking
drop
Middle English drope, from Old English dropa "a small, spherical mass of liquid," from Proto-Germanic *drupon (source also of Old Saxon dropo, Old Norse dropi, Dutch drop, Old High German tropfo, German Tropfen (n.)); see drop (v.). Sense of "minute quantity of anything, least po
order
c. 1200, "body of persons living under a religious discipline," from Old French ordre "position, estate; rule, regulation; religious order" (11c.), from earlier ordene, from Latin ordinem (nominative ordo) "row, line, rank; series, pattern, arrangement, routine," originally "a ro

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