a clublike armor-breaking weapon of war, often with a flanged or spiked metal head, used chiefly in the Middle Ages.
a ceremonial staff carried before or by certain officials as a symbol of office.
Billiards. a light stick with a flat head, formerly used at times instead of a cue.
a club, usually having a spiked metal head, used esp in the Middle Ages
a ceremonial staff of office carried by certain officials
See macebearer
an early form of billiard cue
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French (compare French masse ) large mallet < Vulgar Latin *mattea; akin to Latin matteola kind of mallet; compare Sanskrit matya harrow
1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from macis (taken as plural) < Middle French < Latin maccis a spice
1965–70; probably from mace 1 ( def. ) (in the sense “clublike weapon”)
You might see the leader of a royal procession carrying a mace, or ceremonial staff. The word mace can also refer to two very different weapons: a long stick with spikes on the end or a chemical irritant that you spray in someone's eyes. Ouch! Ever see a film about medieval knights battling one another? The spiked weapon that some knights used was called a mace — and it could put quite a dent in your skull. Because we’re all much more civilized now, we don’t use iron maces anymore, but police officers and riot police do use a chemical spray called Mace, which has much the same effect. It was invented in 1968, just in time to deal with pesky student agitators and the like. Get that in your eyes and it’ll ruin your day.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Maces and crossbows may be the least of it, as it happens.
From New York Times • Jan. 3, 2019
Thor missiles in England, the new Atlases in the U.S., even the lowly, air-breathing Matadors and Maces facing eastward from Europe have been primed with dope from U-2 missions.
From Time Magazine Archive
Maces were used by the heavy cavalry in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but went out of use in England in the reign of Elizabeth.
From England in the Days of Old by Andrews, William
It would be impossible to enumerate specifically here all the activities of teaching, published writing, training seminars and travels the Maces have shared.
From Marriage Enrichment Retreats Story of a Quaker Project by Mace, D. R. (David Robert)
Aboute the sea coaste towarde the weste, ther bordereth vpon them the Maces: whiche shaue their heades in the crowne, and clyppe them rounde by the sides.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 06 Madiera, the Canaries, Ancient Asia, Africa, etc. by Hakluyt, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
