Custody
Etymology
From Latin “custodia” (a guarding or watching over), from “custos” (a guardian or keeper). The single root explains why the same word covers a parent guarding a child and an officer guarding a suspect — both are forms of keeping someone in one’s charge.
noun · /KUS-tuh-dee/
Legal responsibility for the care and control of a child — or, separately, the state of being held by police.
What it names
One word doing two everyday jobs: who gets to raise the kids, and who is being detained — reach for it and let context sort the two.
Example
The parents shared physical custody, alternating weeks, but the mother retained sole legal custody over medical decisions.
Related idea
Custody splits into two kinds people routinely blur: physical custody is where the child lives, while legal custody is the right to make major decisions about the child’s life.