Mace (m?s) A trademark for an aerosol used to immobilize an attacker temporarily. This trademark often occurs in print as a verb and noun.mace 1 (m?s)n.1. A ceremonial staff borne or displayed as the symbol of authority of a legislative body.2. A macebearer.3. A heavy medieval war club with a spiked or flanged metal head, used to crush armor.[Middle English, from Old French masse, from Vulgar Latin *mattea.]mace 2 (m?s)n. A thin fleshy red covering that surrounds the kernel of the nutmeg, dried and used as a spice.[Middle English, back-formation from macis, maces, mace (taken as a plural ending in -s), ultimately (partly via Old French macis) from Medieval Latin macis, perhaps from misreading of Latin macir, the red bark of the root of a South Asian tree (possibly Holarrhena antidysenterica) used as a remedy for dysentery, from Greek makir, of unknown origin.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.mace (me?s) n1. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) a club, usually having a spiked metal head, used esp in the Middle Ages2. a ceremonial staff of office carried by certain officials3. (Billiards & Snooker) an early form of billiard cue[C13: from Old French, probably from Vulgar Latin mattea (unattested); apparently related to Latin mateola mallet]mace (me?s) n (Cookery) 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 (me?s) n1. (Elements & Compounds) trademark a liquid causing tears and nausea, used as a spray for riot control, etc2. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) trademark a liquid causing tears and nausea, used as a spray for riot control, etcvb3. (Elements & Compounds) (tr; sometimes not capital) to use Mace on4. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) (tr; sometimes not capital) to use Mace onCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014mace1 (me?s) n. 1. a clublike armor-breaking weapon, often with a spiked metal head, used chiefly in the Middle Ages. 2. a ceremonial staff symbolic of office. 3. macebearer. [1250?1300; Middle English