Echevin (Scabinus), in the French and Dutch polity, a magistrate elected by the inhabitants of a city, to take care of their common concerns, the good order, conveniency, and decoration of the city, &c.

At Paris there is a prevot and four eschevins; in most other cities a mayor and eschevins. In Languedoc, Provence, and Dauphiné, they are called consuls; at Toulouse, capitouls; and jurats at Bordeaux.

Anciently the eschevins were the affisors and counsellors of the comites or judges of cities; on which account they were called in some places pairs, pares; they even took cognizance of petty causes themselves.

Du Cange observes, that the judges and their affisors, who were chosen by the inhabitants, were called scabinus "eschevins," and their college scabinagium or "eschevinage."

In Holland, the scabins or eschevins judge of all civil affairs at first hand. They also take cognizance of criminal matters: and if the criminal confess himself guilty, they can see their sentence executed without appeal. They can even give torture. The number is not the same in all cities; at Amsterdam there are nine, at Rotterdam seven, &c.