custody

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   holding by the police

   the suspect is in custody

2. 2
   noun

   The legal right to take care of something or somebody, especially children.

   The court awarded custody to the child's father.

3. 3
   noun

   Temporary possession or care of somebody else's property.

   I couldn't pay the bill and now my passport is in custody of the hotel management.

4. 4
   noun

   The state of being imprisoned or detained, usually pending a trial.

   He was mistreated while in police custody.

5. 5
   noun

   An area under the jurisdiction of a custos within the Order of Friars Minor.

   The Custody of the Holy Land includes the monasteries of Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem.

6. 6
   noun

   (with `in') guardianship over

7. 7
   noun

   a state of being confined (usually for a short time)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin custōdia (“a keeping, watch, guard, prison”), from custōs (“a keeper, watchman, guard”). Doublet of custode.