Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DE-VEST', v.t. [Fr. devêtir; de and vêtir, to clothe, L. vestio, id., vestis, a vest, a garment. Generally written divest.]

1. To strip; to deprive of clothing or arms; to take off. – Denham.
2. To deprive; to take away; as, to divest a man or nation of rights. [See Divest.]
3. To free from; to disengage.
4. In law, to alienate, as title or right.