Pele is an adjective synonymous with greatness in Portuguese. Author: rebellious youth
The Michaelis Dictionary of Brazil, the South American giant’s most popular dictionary, has added a new adjective to the Portuguese language in its latest collection: Pele, a word that has become synonymous with greatness. The addition of the deadline was announced on Wednesday by the Pelé Foundation, which led the campaign to have the name consecrated, and in less than a month the petition has garnered more than 125,000 signatures.
The definition of “Pele” reads: “Something or someone unusual, something or someone that, by virtue of its quality, value or superiority, cannot be compared with anything or anyone, such as Pele , nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the best athlete of all time; exceptional, incomparable, unique. “Examples: he is Pele in basketball, she is Pele in tennis, she is Pele in Brazilian drama.”
Pele is the only player to have won the World Cup three times. During his two-decade career, he scored a record 1,281 goals for the Brazilian national team, the Brazilian club Santos and the New York Cosmos. After his sports career ended, he was appointed UN Ambassador for Ecology and Environment in 1992 and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 1994. He died in Sao Paulo in December 2022 at the age of 82 after battling colon cancer.
Source: Juventud Rebelde