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noun
1.
a clublike armor-breaking weapon of war, often with a flanged or spiked metal head, used chiefly in the Middle Ages.
2.
a ceremonial staff carried before or by certain officials as a symbol of office.
3.
4.
Billiards. a light stick with a flat head, formerly used at times instead of a cue.
Origin:
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
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
00:10
Mace
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object), Maced, Mac·ing.
(sometimes lowercase) to attack with Mace spray.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To mace
Collins
World English Dictionary
mace1 (meɪs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a club, usually having a spiked metal head, used esp in the Middle Ages |
| 2. | a ceremonial staff of office carried by certain officials |
| 3. | See macebearer |
| 4. | an early form of billiard cue |
| [C13: from Old French, probably from Vulgar Latin mattea (unattested); apparently related to Latin mateola mallet] | |
| mace2 (meɪs) | |
| —n | |
| a spice made from the dried aril round the nutmeg seed | |
| [C14: formed as a singular from Old French macis (wrongly assumed to be plural), from Latin macir an oriental spice] | |
| Mace (meɪs) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | trademark a liquid causing tears and nausea, used as a spray for riot control, etc |
| —vb | |
| 2. | (tr; sometimes not capital) to use Mace on |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
mace
"heavy metal weapon with a spiked head," c.1300, from O.Fr. mace "a club, scepter," from V.L. *mattea (cf. It. mazza, Sp. maza "mace"), from L. mateola "a kind of mallet." The L. word probably is cognate with Skt. matyam "harrow, club," O.C.S. motyka "mattock," O.H.G. medela "plow."
mace
"spice made from dry outer husk of nutmeg," late 14c., from O.Fr. macis (in Eng. taken as a plural), sometimes said to be a scribal error for L. macir, a red spicy bark from India, but OED finds this etymology unlikely.
Mace
chemical spray originally used in riot control, 1966, technically Chemical Mace, a proprietary name (General Ordnance Equipment Corp, Pittsburgh, Pa.), probably so called for its use as a weapon, in ref. to mace (1). The verb is first attested 1968.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
Mace or MACE (mās)
An alternate trademark used for Chemical Mace, an aerosol used to immobilize an attacker temporarily.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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FOLDOC
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
mace
spice consisting of the dried aril, or lacy covering, of the nutmeg fruit of Myristica fragrans, a tropical evergreen tree. Mace has a slightly warm taste and a fragrance similar to that of nutmeg. It is used to flavour bakery, meat, and fish dishes; to flavour sauces and vegetables; and in preserving and pickling
Learn more about mace with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences from the web
Amazingly, it managed to travel exactly the same distance as mace.
The flail is often, though incorrectly, referred to as a mace.
An important, later development in mace heads was the use of metal for their composition.
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