investment

Etymology

invest + -ment

noun

1. The act of investing, or state of being invested.
   Giving your children a good education is a wise long-term investment.
2. (finance) A placement of capital in expectation of deriving income or profit from its use or appreciation.
   Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe.[…]The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements. 2013-07-19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18
3. (obsolete) A vestment.
4. (military) The act of surrounding, blocking up, or besieging by an armed force, or the state of being so surrounded.
   the investment of the fort 1875, John Howard Hinton, History of the United States of America, from the First Settlement
   In 1858, the Governor of Kuangsi applied for his services, but the Viceroy Tsêng Kuo-fan, under whom he had served for a number of years and who recognised his value, declined to part with him. In 1860 he assisted in the defeat of the rebel reinforcements at the Hsiao-ch‘ih post station and took part in the capture of Taihu, investment of An-ch‘ing and destruction of the rebel camp at Linghu. For his services in the capture of Anch‘ing he was rewarded with the title of Baturu and placed on the list of Brigade Generals. He was next sent to Chihchow in Anhui to make reconnaissances of the country and occupy the commanding situations. May 16, 1890 [April 17, 1890], “Honours to a Deceased Military Officer.”, in The North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, volume XLIV, number 1189, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 594, column 3
5. A mixture of silica sand and plaster which, by surrounding a wax pattern, creates a negative mold of the form used for casting, among other metals, bronze.