English

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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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

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