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custody definition

cus·tody (kus′tə dē)

noun pl. custodies -·dies

  1. a guarding or keeping safe; care; protection; guardianship
  2. the right of having one's children in one's immediate care, awarded under various arrangements to one or both of the parents by a court as a result of a divorce or separation

Etymology: ME custodie < L custodia < custos, a guard, keeper < IE *(s)keudh- <base *(s)keus-, to cover > sky

custody Idioms

in custody

in the keeping of the police; under arrest

take into custody

to arrest

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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