custos

[ kuhs-tos; Latin koos-tohs ]

/ ˈkʌs tɒs; Latin ˈkʊs toʊs /

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noun, plural cus·to·des

[kuh-stoh-deez; Latin koos-toh-des]. /kʌˈstoʊ diz; Latin kʊsˈtoʊ dɛs/.

(italics)Latin. a custodian.

a superior in the Franciscan order.

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Origin of custos

1425–75; late Middle English <Medieval Latin

Words nearby custos

custom-order, customs, customs broker, customs union, custom-tailor, custos, custos morum, custumal, cut, cutability, cut above

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use custos in a sentence

Before 1888 the clerk of the peace was appointed in a county by the custos rotulorum.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4|Various
I enquired, finding that the old custos was more inclined to speak of his predecessor than himself.
A Yacht Voyage Round England|W.H.G. Kingston
His Honour the Superintendent might have assumed the classical motto, "Custos sum pauperis horti."
The Book of the Bush|George Dunderdale
The Duke of York was appointed custos person of the King, and received in that capacity 10,000ℓ.
The Greville Memoirs|Charles C. F. Greville

This is the same animal which a naturalist of the last century named the Cancer custos.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden

British Dictionary definitions for custos

custos

/ (ˈkʌstɒs) /

noun plural custodes (kʌˈstəʊdiːz)

a superior in the Franciscan religious orderAlso called (in England): guardian

Word Origin for custos

C15: from Latin: keeper, guard

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012