Brazil's Michaelis dictionary has added "Pele" as an adjective to use when describing someone who is "exceptional, incomparable, unique." The decision comes as part of a campaign that gathered over 125,000 signatures to honor the late soccer great's impact beyond his sport. Pelé, a three-time World Cup champion, passed away in December at the age of 82 after battling colon cancer.

According to the dictionary entry, "Pele" describes someone who is extraordinary and cannot be matched to anything or anyone because of their quality, value, or superiority. Examples given include "the Pele of basketball," "the Pele of tennis," "the Pele of Brazilian theater," and "the Pele of medicine." The entry also notes that Pelé was the nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the best athlete of all time.

The Pelé Foundation, Santos FC (where he played most of his career), and many Brazilians celebrated the decision by the publishers of one of the country's most popular dictionaries. After the announcement, Pele's social media channels stated, "The expression that was already used to refer to the best at something is already eternal in the pages of the dictionary. We made history together and put the name of the King of Soccer into the Portuguese language. Pele means 'THE BEST'."

Pele spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents as the game's most prolific scorer with Brazilian club Santos and the Brazil national team. In the conversation about soccer's greatest, only the late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned alongside.