ENGLISH
REFERENCE

custodian

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //kəˈstoʊdiən// UK //kʌstˈəʊdiən// cus·to·di·an

n. a person who is responsible for taking care of a building or a valuable collection of objects. In some places, it is another word for a janitor or caretaker.

n. a person who has responsibility for or looks after something, such as a building, a museum collection, or a set of values. Often used in legal or institutional contexts to describe a formal guardian.


SIMPLE

The custodian cleans the school every evening.

CONTEXTUAL

As the custodian of the historical archives, she ensures that the fragile documents are kept in a climate-controlled room.

COMPLEX

The court appointed a legal custodian to manage the estate's assets until the heirs reached the age of majority, ensuring the capital remained protected from market volatility.

Synonyms
Origin

From a shortening of Latin custōdiānātus, from Latin custōdia (“a keeping, watch, guard, prison”), from custōs (“a keeper, watchman, guard”). By surface analysis, custody + -ian.

Usage

Often followed by the preposition 'of' to indicate the specific object or concept being guarded.

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