Physical custody
Etymology
From "custody," Latin "custodia" (guarding), from "custos" (guardian), with "physical" (Greek "physis," nature; via Latin "physicalis") marking the bodily, locational dimension. The split from decision-making authority is a modern family-law refinement.
noun phrase · /FIZ-i-kuhl KUS-tuh-dee/
The right and responsibility to have a child live in one’s home and provide day-to-day care.
What it names
It isolates the residential, daily-care half of parenting rights from the authority to make major decisions.
Example
She had primary physical custody, so the children lived with her on weekdays and visited their father on weekends.
Related idea
The counterpart to legal custody, which concerns who makes major decisions about the child; a parent can hold physical custody — the child lives with them — while sharing or lacking the authority to decide on schooling or medical care.