# What does the 'Sick Man of Europe' mean?

The 'Sick Man' was the label Nicholas I of Russia gave the declining Ottoman Empire in 1844, and the phrase has been applied to other failing states ever since. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), human-proofread transcription on English Wikisource records: “( The ). So Nicholas of Russia (in 1844) called the Ottoman Empire, which had been declining ever since 1586. "I repeat to you that the sick man is dying; and we must never allow such an event to take us by surprise."— Annual Register , 1853. N.B. Don John, Governor-General of the Netherlands, writing in 1579 to Philip II. of Spain, calls the Prince of Orange "the sick man," because he was in the way, and he wanted him "finished." "'Money' (he says in his letter) 'is the gruel with which we must cure this sick man [for spies and assassins are expensive drugs]'."— Motley: Dutch Republic , bk. v. 2.”

## What it means

- Verbatim from Brewer's (1898): ( The ). So Nicholas of Russia (in 1844) called the Ottoman Empire, which had been declining ever since 1586. "I repeat to you that the sick man is dying; and we must never allow such an event to take us by surprise."— Annual Register , 1853. N.B. Don John, Governor-General of the Netherlands, writing in 1579 to Philip II. of Spain, calls the Prince of Orange "the sick man," because he was in the way, and he wanted him "finished." "'Money' (he says in his letter) 'is the gruel with which we must cure this sick man [for spies and assassins are expensive drugs]'."— Motley: Dutch Republic , bk. v. 2.

## Action steps

1. Modern usage: The 'Sick Man' was the label Nicholas I of Russia gave the declining Ottoman Empire in 1844, and the phrase has been applied to other failing states ever since.
2. When quoting the origin, cite Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — this is a 19th-century record, not a modern etymology.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Wikisource proofread text](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Brewer%27s_Dictionary_of_Phrase_and_Fable/Sick_Man)

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