custodian
- 01 C1 Advanced
someone who is responsible for protecting or looking after something important, like a tradition, a building, or a child.
a person entrusted with the custody or care of something or someone; a protector of assets, values, or legal interests.
Simple“The museum acts as the custodian of the nation's most important historical documents.”
In context“As the sole custodian of the family estate, she felt a heavy responsibility to preserve the land for future generations.”
UsageOften followed by the preposition 'of'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a person whose job is to clean and take care of a large building, like a school.
a person employed to clean and maintain a building, such as a school or office complex.
Simple“The school custodian made sure all the classrooms were clean before the students arrived.”
In context“The head custodian reported that the heating system required urgent repairs before the winter term began.”
Teacher's tipIn British English, 'caretaker' is the standard term for this role; 'custodian' is almost exclusively used for the 'guardian' sense.
“The Bank is one of the largest custodians of gold in the world.”
“Decision makers must strike a delicate balance as they redefine their roles as custodians of culture in an era when technology empowers them to do so much.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.