means A mace is either a heavy clubbed weapon with a spiked or flanged head, a ceremonial staff carried as a symbol of authority, or the lacy outer covering of the nutmeg seed used as a warm spice.

from Two different words wearing the same coat. The weapon comes through Old French 'mace' (a club or mallet), likely from Latin 'mateola,' a tool for driving things into the ground. The spice arrives separately through Old French 'macis,' itself from Latin 'macir,' the name of a spice — though the exact plant the Romans meant is genuinely uncertain. They met in English and never sorted out their identities, which is why one word now means both 'crush a skull' and 'season the custard.'