The nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimentowho died in December at the age of 82, is used colloquially in Brazil as a synonym for extraordinary, but from now on it can be used officially by the more than 265 million speakers of that language.
“The expression that was already used to refer to the best in what he does is eternalized in the pages of the dictionary!”celebrated the Pelé Foundation in a message in instagram.
The word “Pelé”, described in the entry of Michaelis as a adjectiveis defined as “exceptional, incomparable, unique”.
“Something or someone that is out of the ordinary, something or someone that, due to its quality, value or superiority, cannot be compared to anything or anyone, like Pelé®, nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the best athlete of all time”, reads the online version of the dictionary.
Also read: Pelé, for a new feat: enter the dictionary of the Portuguese language
Michaelis also gives some examples of its use: “He is the pele of basketball, she is the pele of Brazilian dramaturgy, he is the pele of medicine.”
At the moment, the word is only available in the Digital version of the thesaurus, accompanied by the registered trademark symbol, although the firm intends to include it in its future printed editions.
The Brazilian Academy of Letters, which governs Portuguese in Brazil, where 215 million Lusophones live, has not introduced the word in its digital version.
The inclusion of what many consider to be the best footballer in history is the result of a joint campaign launched on April 14 by the Pelé Foundation, the sports channel SporTV of the chain Balloon and Santos de Sao Paulo, the club where he played most of his career.
The initiative “Pele in the dictionary” It collected more than 125,000 signatures in a month and a half, according to its organizers, and it occurs at a time when South America is still paying homage to the only three-time world champion soccer player (1958, 1962, 1970), who died on December 29 in Sao Paulo due to complications from breast cancer. colon.
The Brasileirao and the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana hold minutes of silence before the start of the matches in honor of the man who internationalized soccer in Brazil.
The entrance “Pelé” enters popular Portuguese language dictionary was first published on newspaper TODAY.
