sergeant at mace
noun1
Historical A low-ranking executive officer who carries a mace as a badge of office.
- 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.1828, The Crypt, volume III, page 224:
- Bauthumley ended as a respectable citizen of his native Leicester, library-keeper and serjeant-at-mace.1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 178:
- Synonyms
- sergeant of the mace