The late football legend , Pelé, is now formally associated with the words “exceptional, incomparable, and unique.”
One of the most widely used dictionaries in Brazil in Portuguese, Michaelis, has introduced “pelé” as a new adjective to its online version.
The inclusion followed the collection of more than 125,000 signatures in support of a campaign by the Pelé Foundation to honor the football legend.
Age 82, Pelé passed away in December.
He is regarded as the greatest footballer in history because he is the only player to have won the World Cup three times.
He played for two decades, scoring 1,281 goals total with the New York Knicks, Brazil’s national team, and Brazilian club Santos.
Since his death from complications from colon cancer, his former club, Santos, sports channel SporTV and the Pelé Foundation had been pressing for the football star’s name to be recognised with its own entry in the dictionary.
On Wednesday, the publishers behind Michaelis dictionaries announced the word would be included in the digital edition of their Portuguese-language dictionary immediately and in the printed version once the next edition was published.
The Pelé Foundation, a charitable organisation created to preserve the player’s legacy, said it was a fitting tribute to “the king”.
“The expression already used to refer to someone who is the best at what they do has been [made eternal] on the pages of the dictionary!” it tweeted.