Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sick man of europe

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.62 in modern English

Syllables: sick- -man of eu-rope
IPA

28

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

4

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

The Ottoman Empire.

Archaic

name

Any European country undergoing economic difficulty.

Example Sentences

"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."

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.

Usage

Archaic

Phrases

sick man of Asia sick man of East Asia

Questions

What does sick man of europe mean?: The Ottoman Empire.
Where does sick man of europe come from?: 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.

How to pronounce sick man of europe

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