custody

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkʌstədiː/ See IPA manual

Freq #2686

Meanings

1

noun
The legal right and duty to care for someone, especially a child.

The court awarded custody of the children to their mother.
2

noun
The state of being held by the police, usually before a trial.

He was held in police custody overnight.
3

noun
The temporary care or safekeeping of someone else's property.

My passport is in the custody of the hotel until I pay the bill.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the state of being held by... detention detainment

Word family

Forms custodies

Derived forms custodee

Related forms custodialcustodian

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

protective custody
detention or supervised care intended to keep someone safe

Adjective + noun

Etymology

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

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# custody

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkʌstədiː/
**Frequency rank:** 2686

## Meanings
1. The legal right and duty to care for someone, especially a child.
2. The state of being held by the police, usually before a trial.
3. The temporary care or safekeeping of someone else's property.

## Examples
- The court awarded custody of the children to their mother.
- He was held in police custody overnight.
- My passport is in the custody of the hotel until I pay the bill.

## Derived Forms
- custodee

## Related Forms
- custodial
- custodian

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

## AI Etymology
Custody is borrowed from Latin custōdia (“a keeping, watch, guard, prison”), from custōs (“a keeper, watchman, guard”). Doublet of custode. The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as custodee and related forms such as custodial and custodian. In present use it covers the legal right and duty to care for someone, especially a child, the state of being held by the police, usually before a trial, and the temporary care or safekeeping of someone else's property.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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