(with `in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child; "my fate is in your hands"; "too much power in the president's hands"; "your guests are now in my custody"; "the mother was awarded custody of the children"
deserving or inciting pity; "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life"
disposing of property by voluntary transfer without receiving value in return; "the alumni followed a program of annual giving"
the act of giving
the imparting of news or promises etc.; "he gave us the news and made a great show of the giving"; "giving his word of honor seemed to come too easily"