custody

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