Custodial

How to spell custodial

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce custodial

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does custodial mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the legal custody, guardianship, or detention of a person.
2. adjectiveRelating to the cleaning, maintenance, and general upkeep of a building.

Custodial in a sentence

• The judge handed down a custodial sentence of three years.

• The custodial staff lock the school doors every evening.

• The divorce settlement set out the custodial rights of each parent.

• The college advertised a vacancy for a custodial worker to maintain the gym.

Where does custodial come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin custos, meaning 'a guardian' or 'keeper', the person responsible for watching over something or someone. From custos came custodia, the abstract noun for 'guarding', 'watching', or 'keeping safe', which also gave English the noun 'custody'. The adjective form custodial was built by adding the Latin suffix -ialis, used to form adjectives of relation, so the literal sense is 'pertaining to guarding or keeping'. English adopted it in the seventeenth century, first in the sense of guardianship and care, and later in legal language for matters of detention and parental custody. The same custos root quietly survives in 'custodian', the keeper or caretaker, which is a useful reminder that the tricky middle of the word is spelled c-u-s-t-o-d, echoing 'custody' rather than any -tad or -ted variant.

How the word is built

• custod- (from Latin custos: guardian, keeper)
• -ial (adjective-forming suffix)