Schöffe

The German word Schöffe (pl. Schöffen) refers to a lay judge in German-speaking countries. The closest English equivalent is a lay magistrate or perhaps alderman. This German term is related to the terms used in other European languages, including schepen (pl. schepenen) in Dutch, échevin (pl. échevins) in French (in Belgium and Luxembourg), šepmistr (pl. šepmistři) in Czech, and scabino (pl. scabini) in Italian.