Etymology

sick man of Europe

Today it means: The Ottoman Empire. Full definition →

Russian больно́й челове́к Европы
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The story

  1. Russian · calque ofбольно́й челове́к Европы
  2. English todaysick man of Europe

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.