*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Mace

* As an English surname, from the personal name Masse, probably shortened from Matthew. Compare Massey, Massett. * As a French and Breton surname, from Macé, vernacular form of Mathieu. Compare Maze. * Also as a French s

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

Alternative letter-case form of mace (tear gas or pepper spray) · A male given name, a name derived from the war instrument, a mace · A surname. · An English surname transferred from the given name.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As an English surname, from the personal name Masse, probably shortened from Matthew. Compare Massey, Massett. * As a French and Breton surname, from Macé, vernacular form of Mathieu. Compare Maze. * Also as a French surname, from Macé in Orne, from Late Latin Macciacum, from the personal name Maccius. * Also as a French surname, variant of Massé; see Masse.

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "French"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "br",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Breton"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "Macciacum"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin Macciacum"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Masse",
      "Masse#English"
    ],
    [
      "Matthew",
      "Matthew#English"
    ],
    [
      "Massey",
      "Massey#English"
    ],
    [
      "Massett",
      "Massett#English"
    ],
    [
      "Macé",
      "Macé#English"
    ],
    [
      "Mathieu",
      "Mathieu#English"
    ],
    [
      "Maze",
      "Maze#English"
    ],
    [
      "Orne",
      "Orne"
    ],
    [
      "Macciacum",
      "Macciacum#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Maccius",
      "Maccius#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Massé",
      "Massé#English"
    ],
    [
      "Masse",
      "Masse#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of mace (tear gas or pepper spray)",
        "A male given name, a name derived from the war instrument, a mace",
        "A surname.",
        "An English surname transferred from the given name."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "7589fe2b1f7cf4ebc5f36e2776a9ca087f90540010583d9e852caa1e5cc318c6",
      "rawRecordSha256": "949a08931dbedb6a859f17ffb85663b47a11e7d4244fb5869ce651d254aa16de",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 329146
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Mace →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TWFjZQ