sick man of Europe en · PROPN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
Calque of Russian больно́й челове́к Европы (bolʹnój čelovék Jevropy), a phrase coined by Czar Nicholas I of the Empire of Russia, referring to the poor state of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.
Meanings
- (archaic) The Ottoman Empire.
-
Any European country undergoing economic difficulty.
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.
2022 November 27, William Keegan, “Brexit has made Britain the sick man of Europe again”, in The Guardian:
Deriveds
sick man of Asia · sick man of East Asia
Translations (21)
sv Europas sjuke man (Ottoman Empire) · ug ياۋروپا كېسەل كۆرپىسى (Ottoman Empire) · es hombre enfermo de Europa (Ottoman Empire) · pl chory człowiek Europy (any European country undergoing economic difficulty) · el μεγάλος ασθενής (Ottoman Empire) · pt homem doente da Europa (any European country undergoing economic difficulty) · fi Euroopan sairas mies (Ottoman Empire) · pt homem doente da Europa (Ottoman Empire) · ja ヨーロッパの病人 (Ottoman Empire) · fr homme malade de l'Europe (Ottoman Empire) · pt doente da Europa (any European country undergoing economic difficulty) · pl chory człowiek Europy (Ottoman Empire) · no Europas syke mann (Ottoman Empire) · tr Avrupa'nın hasta adamı (Ottoman Empire) · nl zieke man van Europa (Ottoman Empire) · ko 유럽의 환자 (Ottoman Empire) · sh болесник Еуропе (Ottoman Empire) · ru больно́й челове́к Евро́пы (Ottoman Empire) · de kranker Mann am Bosporus (Ottoman Empire) · fi Euroopan sairas mies (any European country undergoing economic difficulty) · da Europas syge mand (Ottoman Empire)