investiture

/ɪnˈvɛstəʧər/

Other forms: investitures

Investiture is what happens when a government official, a judge, or a head of state is formally put into office or promoted to a higher rank. The investiture of a king or queen involves an elaborate, lengthy ceremony.

The noun investiture is good for describing the process of naming a judge or a church bishop, for example, to office. Investitures tend to include ritual ceremony and the symbolic transfer of a position from one person to the next. In the U.S., Supreme Court justices are invested with the position — which literally means "clothed in the official robes of office." Both words stem from the Latin investire, "clothe in" or "cover."

Definitions of investiture

1. noun

   the ceremonial act of clothing someone in the insignia of an office; the formal promotion of a person to an office or rank
   synonyms: investment

   type of:

   promotion

   the act of raising in rank or position
2. noun

   the ceremony of installing a new monarch
   synonyms: coronation, enthronement, enthronisation, enthronization

   type of:

   induction, initiation, installation

   a formal entry into an organization or position or office