Definition

1. Noun:
   • A ceremonial staff carried as a symbol of office or authority: A heavy, often ornamented club or staff, used historically as a weapon and now carried in formal ceremonies by officials.
   • A spice made from the dried fleshy covering (aril) of the nutmeg seed: A yellowish-brown spice with a warm, sweet, and slightly peppery flavor, used in cooking and baking.
   • An official who carries a mace of office: A person, such as a sergeant-at-arms, whose duty includes carrying the ceremonial mace in processions or legislative assemblies.
   • (Trademark) A liquid that temporarily disables a person; prepared as an aerosol and sprayed in the face, it irritates the eyes and causes dizziness and immobilization: A brand name for a type of pepper spray or similar defensive chemical agent.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Ceremonial Staff):
  • The university chancellor carried the ornate mace at the head of the graduation procession.
  • The mace is placed on a stand in front of the Speaker during parliamentary sessions.
• Noun (Spice):
  • The recipe calls for a pinch of mace to enhance the flavor of the pumpkin pie.
  • Mace and nutmeg come from the same fruit but have distinct tastes.
• Noun (Official):
  • The mace led the formal parade into the hall.
• Noun (Defensive Spray):
  • She carried a can of Mace in her purse for personal protection.

Advanced Usage

• "to bear the mace": To hold or carry the ceremonial mace, symbolizing one's official role.
  • The sergeant-at-arms bears the mace when the House is in session.
• "under the mace": Referring to the authority or jurisdiction symbolized by the mace, often in a legislative context.
  • The debate was conducted under the mace, following strict rules of order.

Variants and Related Words

• Macebearer (n): Another term for an official who carries a mace.
  • The macebearer walked solemnly ahead of the mayor.
• Mace spray (n): A common generic term for defensive aerosol sprays similar to the trademarked product.
  • Police officers are often equipped with mace spray.

Synonyms

• Ceremonial Staff: Scepter, staff, baton.
• Spice: (No direct single-word synonym; it is a specific spice).
• Official: Sergeant-at-arms, beadle.
• Defensive Spray: Pepper spray, incapacitant spray.

Related Phrases

• "More than one way to skin a cat" (Idiom, not directly related but sometimes used in contexts discussing alternatives, including different uses of a word like 'mace').
  • When the spice shop was out of mace, she remembered there's more than one way to skin a cat and used a blend of cinnamon and allspice instead.

Idioms

• "To be maced": To be sprayed with a defensive chemical agent like Mace.
  • The protester was maced by security after climbing the barrier.
• "The mace and the gavel": Symbolizing legislative authority and order (the mace for the body, the gavel for the presiding officer).
  • The ceremony represented the transfer of power, symbolized by the mace and the gavel.

Noun

1. a ceremonial staff carried as a symbol of office or authority
2. spice made from the dried fleshy covering of the nutmeg seed
3. an official who carries a mace of office
4. (trademark) a liquid that temporarily disables a person; prepared as an aerosol and sprayed in the face, it irritates the eyes and causes dizziness and immobilization