sergeant at mace

English

Alternative forms

• sergeant-at-mace, serjeant at mace, serjeant-at-mace
• sergeant at the mace (obsolete)

Noun

sergeant at mace (plural sergeants at mace)

1. (now historical) A low-ranking executive officer who carries a mace as a badge of office.
   • 1828, The Crypt, volume III, page 224:

     This device, preceded by a band of music, is carried in procession by the Sergeant at Mace, after whom follow a man and woman, gaily and fantastically attired, in the characters of Lord and Lady, who perform the dance to a tabor and pipe.

   • 1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 178:

     Bauthumley ended as a respectable citizen of his native Leicester, library-keeper and serjeant-at-mace.

Synonyms

• sergeant of the mace