Etymologically
Log in

investment

Etymology and origin of the English word investment

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1597
Ultimate origin
English (invest)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈvest.mənt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from invest and the suffix -ment.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of putting on vestments or clothing: 1597 in the OED and Merriam-Webster,[4][3] a sense now found in investiture.[2]

Semantic evolution

Being invested with an office or right is from 1649, the 1640s in Etymonline.[4][2] An outer covering or coating is from 1646.[4] The commercial sense began in 1615 in the East India trade, for spending money on goods to export,[4][3] and was first used of the East India Company.[2] In general use, turning money into property in the hope of profit, it is from 1740,[4][2] and an amount of money invested from 1837.[4] The military sense, the surrounding and besieging of a town or fort, is from 1811.[4][2] For the development of the commercial senses, Etymonline refers to the verb invest.[2]

Timeline

  • 1597 – putting on clothes or vestments.[4][3]
  • 1615 – the use of money in the East India trade.[4]
  • 1646 – an outer covering.[4]
  • 1649 – investiture with an office.[4]
  • 1740 – conversion of money into property for profit.[4][2]
  • 1811 – a military siege.[4][2]
  • 1837 – an amount invested.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of investing money for profit.
  2. An amount of money invested, or the property bought with it.
  3. A commitment, as of time or effort, made in the hope of a later benefit.
  4. (military) A siege.
  5. (archaic) A garment or outer covering.

Word family

  • overinvestment
  • proinvestment
  • reinvestment
  • underinvestment
  • capital investment
  • investment bank
  • investment casting
  • investment company
  • invest
  • vest
  • vestment
  • investiture
  • divest
  • wear

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Investment.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/investment. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·