Portuguese Dictionary Synonym Pele for ‘incomparable’, ‘unique’
Following a campaign by the late Brazilian football hero Edson Arantes do Nascimento’s foundation, the term “Pele,” the nickname he was given, has been added to the Portuguese vocabulary as a synonym for “unique” and “incomparable.”
Following his passing from complications related to colon cancer last year, the Pelé Foundation started the fight to have the enduring moniker entered into the dictionary.
More than 125,000 people signed the petition, which prompted the Portuguese-language Michaelis dictionary to add the name to its listings.
The Santos icon passed away at the age of 82.
The word “Pelé” will be added right away to the digital version of the Portuguese-language dictionary, according to the publishers of Michaelis dictionaries, who delivered the announcement on Wednesday. The update will be made to the printed edition before the next printing version.
“pe.lé adj.,” the entry reads. That or someone who is unusual, who or who cannot be compared to anything or anyone due to their exceptional qualities, worth, or superiority, similar to Pelé, the nickname given to Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940–2022), who is widely regarded as the greatest athlete to have ever lived; exceptional, incomparable, or one-of-a-kind.
With a record of 1,281 goals scored in an entire career that stretched two decades for Brazil’s national squad, Santos, and the New York Cosmos, Pelé is acknowledged as the greatest footballer in the annals of the round leather game. He holds the distinction of being the only player to have won three FIFA World Cup titles.
The number of goals scored during Pelé’s career is frequently disputed by different sources, with many claiming that many of those goals were scored during multiple unofficial matches. However, the Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF), which only considers competitive matches, determined that Pelé scored 767 goals in 831 games.
