A Brazilian dictionary has added football great ‘Pele’ as an adjective. The word can be used when describing someone who is exceptional, incomparable and unique.
Michaelis dictionary has recently announced the development. It is part of a campaign that gathered more than 1,25,000 signatures to honor the late soccer great’s incredible impact beyond the game.
Describing the new entry word ‘Pele’, the dictionary says, “The one that is extraordinary, or who because of his quality, value or superiority cannot be matched to anything or anyone, just like Pele; nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the best athlete of all time; exceptional, incomparable, unique. Examples: He is the Pele of basketball, she is the Pelé of tennis, she is the Pele of Brazilian theater, he is the Pele of medicine.”
Numerous Pele fans in Brazil celebrated the decision by Michaelis dictionary. It is one of the country’s most popular dictionaries.
Notably, Football’s original GOAT, global sporting hero and Brazil’s former sports minister Pele, passed away in last December losing his battle against cancer at the age of 82.
Pele was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in 2000. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award.