Soccer legend Pele added to Brazilian dictionary
Pele, who is the only player in history to have won the FIFA World Cup three times, died in December at age 82 after a fight against colon cancer
A Brazilian dictionary added “Pelé,” the nickname of soccer legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento, as an adjective to use when describing someone who is “exceptional, incomparable, unique.”
The announcement by the Portuguese-language Michaelis dictionary on Wednesday comes following a campaign that gathered more than 125,000 signatures to honor the legend’s impact beyond the sport of soccer.
Pele, who is the only player in history to have won the FIFA World Cup three times, died in December at age 82 after a fight against colon cancer.
The dictionary entry for the Santos legend reads: “The one that is extraordinary, or who because of his quality, value or superiority cannot be matched to anything or anyone, just like Pelé; nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the best athlete of all time; exceptional, incomparable, unique. Examples: He is the Pelé of basketball, she is the Pelé of tennis, she is the Pelé of Brazilian theater, he is the Pelé of medicine.”
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Michaelis dictionary's decision has been welcomed almost unanimously by Brazilians, including The Pelé Foundation and Santos FC, the club where Pele played for most of his career.
“The expression that was already used to refer to the best at something is already eternal in the pages of the dictionary,” Pelé‘s social media channels said following the announcement. “We made history together and put the name of the King of Soccer into the Portuguese language. Pelé means ‘THE BEST’.”
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In a playing career that spanned two decades, Pele scored a record 1,281 goals with Brazilian club Santos, Brazil's national team, and the New York Cosmos.