custody

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
custody /ˈkʌstədi/

▶noun

• 1 the protective care or guardianship of someone or something.

  ■ Law parental responsibility, especially as allocated to one of two divorcing parents.

• 2 imprisonment.

– derivatives
custodial /kʌˈstəʊdɪəl/ adjective.

– origin ME: from L. custodia, from custos ‘guardian’.