CUSTODY, noun [Latin , 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 3:36. 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.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI