Etymology : Middle English custodie, from Latin custodia guarding, from custod-, custos guardian
Pronunciation : k&s-t&-dE
Function : noun
Date : 15th century
1. detention, confinement; supervision; guardianship. custody\cus"to*dy\ (k?s"t?-d?), n. [l. custodia, fr. custos guard; prob. akin to gr. to hide, and e. hide. see:
hide to cover.].
2. a keeping or guarding; care, watch, inspection, for keeping, preservation, or security. a fleet of thirty ships for the custody of the narrow seas.
3. judicial or penal safe-keeping. jailer, take him to thy custody.
4. state of being guarded and watched to prevent escape; restraint of liberty; confinement; imprisonment. what pease will be given to us enslaved, but custody severe, and stripes and arbitrary punishment?custody n.
5. a state of being confined (usually for a short time); "his detention was politically motivated"; "the prisoner is on hold"; "he is in the custody of police" [syn: detention, hold].
6. holding by the police; "the suspect is in custody".
7. (with `in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child; "my fate is in your hands"; "too much power in the president's hands"; "your guests are now in my custody"; "the mother was awarded custody of the children" [syn: hands].
8. A keeping or guarding; care, watch, inspection, for keeping, preservation, or security.
9. Judicial or penal safe- keeping.
10. State of being guarded and watched to prevent escape; restraint of liberty; confinement; imprisonment. holding by the police; "the suspect is in custody".
11. 1. Custody is the legal right to keep and look after a child, especially the right given to a child's mother or father when they get divorced. I'm going to go to court to get custody of the children Child custody is normally granted to the mother.
12. Someone who is in custody or has been taken into custody has been arrested and is being kept in prison until they can be tried in a court. Three people appeared in court and two of them were remanded in custody She was taken into custody later that day.
13. If someone is being held in a particular type of custody, they are being kept in a place that is similar to a prison. Barrett was taken into protective custody.