sick man of Europe

English

Etymology

A calque of a phrase coined by Czar Nicholas I, Romanov, of the Empire of Russia: больно́й челове́к Европы (bolʹnój čelovék Jevropy). This name for the Turkish Ottoman Empire refers to the sickly state of the Ottoman state in the 19th century.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

sick man of Europe

1. (archaic, politics) Ottoman Empire.
2. (politics) Any European country undergoing economic difficulty.
   • 2022 November 27, William Keegan, “Brexit has made Britain the sick man of Europe again”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Yes, we were known as the “sick man of Europe” until we joined the European Union and – guess what – we have left the EU and have regained that dubious status.

Derived terms

• sick man of Asia
• sick man of East Asia

Translations

Ottoman Empire

• Danish: Europas syge mand c
• Dutch: zieke man van Europa m
• Finnish: Euroopan sairas mies
• French: homme malade de l’Europe m
• German: kranker Mann am Bosporus m
• Greek: μεγάλος ασθενής m (megálos asthenís)
• Japanese: ヨーロッパの病人 (yōroppa no byōnin)
• Korean: 유럽의 환자 (yureobui hwanja)
• Norwegian: Europas syke mann
• Polish: chory człowiek Europy m
• Portuguese: homem doente da Europa m
• Russian: больно́й челове́к Евро́пы m (bolʹnój čelovék Jevrópy)
• Serbo-Croatian: болесник Еуропе m (bolesnik Europe)
• Spanish: hombre enfermo de Europa m
• Swedish: Europas sjuke man c
• Turkish: Avrupa'nın hasta adamı
• Uyghur: ياۋروپا كېسەل كۆرپىسى (yawropa kësel körpisi)

any European country undergoing economic difficulty

• Finnish: Euroopan sairas mies
• Portuguese: doente da Europa m, homem doente da Europa m