custos

American  

[kuhs-tos, koos-tohs] / ˈkʌs tɒs, ˈkʊs toʊs /

noun

plural

custodes

1. (italics) a custodian.

2. a superior in the Franciscan order.

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custos British  

/ ˈkʌstɒs /

noun

1. Also called (in England): guardian.  a superior in the Franciscan religious order

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Etymology

Origin of custos

1425–75; late Middle English < Medieval Latin

Example Sentences

The Very Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, custos of the Holy Land, will speak about “Struggle and Hope in the Holy Land.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 13, 2015

Thus we hear of a custos palatinae capellae who was in charge of the palace chapel relics, and guarded them in the field; the chief of these custodes was sometimes called the archicapellanus.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

Before 1888 the clerk of the peace was appointed in a county by the custos rotulorum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4 "England" to "English Finance" by Various

In 1834 he was made custos and in 1841 professor of composition in the Academy of Vienna.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

More often sheer financial distress, rather than moral disorder, was the reason for which a custos was appointed to a house.

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen