Adjacent Words

Custody definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CUSTODY, n. [L., a watchman, a keeper. See Chaste.]
1. A keeping; a guarding; care, watch, inspection, for keeping, preservation or security.
Under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle. Numbers 3.
The prisoner was committed to the custody of the sheriff.
2. Imprisonment; confinement; restraint of liberty.
3. Defense from a foe; preservation; security.
There was prepared a fleet of thirty ships fro the custody of the narrow seas.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: 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, detainment, hold, custody]
2: holding by the police; "the suspect is in custody"
3: (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, custody]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -dies) Etymology: Middle English custodie, from Latin custodia guarding, from custod-, custos guardian Date: 15th century immediate charge and control (as over a ward or a suspect) exercised by a person or an authority; also safekeeping

U.S. Military Dictionary

1. The responsibility for the control of, transfer and movement of, and access to, weapons and components. Custody also includes the maintenance of accountability for weapons and components. 2. Temporary restraint of a person.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 guardianship; protective care. 2 imprisonment. Phrases and idioms: take into custody arrest. Derivatives: custodial adj. Etymology: L custodia f. custos -odis guardian

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.] 1. A keeping or guarding; care, watch, inspection, for keeping, preservation, or security. A fleet of thirty ships for the custody of the narrow seas. --Bacon. 2. Judicial or penal safe-keeping. Jailer, take him to thy custody. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

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. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n 2. 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. PHRASE: PHR after v 3. 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. N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kus'-to-di (yadh, pequddah): In Es 2:3,8 bis. 14, yadh, "the hand," is translated "Custody": pequddah, "numbering," "chanrge"; occurs in Nu 3:36 the Revised Version (British and American) "the appointed charge," margin, Hebrew "the office of the charge."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Keeping, care, watch, guardianship, protection, safe-keeping. 2. Confinement, imprisonment, prison, durance, duress.

Moby Thesaurus

administration, auspices, captainship, care, chairmanship, charge, cold storage, confinement, conservation, convenership, cure, custodianship, dead storage, detention, dictatorship, directorate, directorship, dry storage, eagle eye, foremanship, generalship, governance, government, governorship, guard, guardedness, guardianship, guarding, guidance, hands, headship, hold, imprisonment, incarceration, intendancy, invigilation, jurisdiction, keep, keeping, leadership, lookout, management, managership, mastership, ministry, monitoring, observance, overseership, oversight, pastorage, pastorate, pastorship, patronage, peeled eye, preservation, presidency, preventive custody, proctoring, proctorship, protection, protective custody, protectorship, prudence, qui vive, safe hands, safekeeping, sharp eye, shelf-room, sovereignty, stewardship, storage, storage space, stowage, superintendence, superintendency, supervision, supervisorship, surveillance, trust, tutelage, vigil, vigilance, ward, wardenship, wardship, warehousing, wariness, watch, watch and ward, watchful eye, watchfulness, watching, weather eye, wing