The Soccer Emperor Pele Listed in Brazilian Dictionary... 'Outstanding and Unique'

The name of Brazil's 'Football Emperor' Pel?, who passed away last year, has been turned into an adjective and added to the Brazilian Portuguese dictionary. The adjective 'Pel?' means 'outstanding, unparalleled, unique.'

According to foreign media reports including the AP News on the 27th (local time), the 'Michaelis Dictionary,' a Portuguese dictionary published in Brazil, announced that the word 'Pel? (Pel?)' has been added to the dictionary not only as a noun but also as an adjective.

Brazil's football emperor Pel?
[Photo by EPA]

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The Michaelis Dictionary explains the meaning of 'Pel?' as "an extraordinary person, or someone incomparable to anything or anyone due to their qualities, value, or superiority like Pel?," and describes it as "the nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940?2022), regarded as the greatest athlete of all time: outstanding, unparalleled, unique." Examples of using 'Pel?' as an adjective include 'Pel? basketball player,' 'she is a Pel? tennis player,' 'she is a Pel? actor,' and 'he is a Pel? doctor.'

Pel?, who passed away at the age of 82 last December after battling cancer, is considered Brazil's football emperor and a legend in world football. He is the only player to have won the FIFA World Cup three times (1958, 1962, 1970). During his active career, he played 14 World Cup matches and scored 12 goals, and according to FIFA records, he appeared in 1,366 matches and scored 1,281 goals.

He is better known by his nickname 'Pel?' than his real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Pel? was his nickname from childhood, but the exact origin of the nickname is unknown. In Pel?'s autobiography published in 1977, he stated that he did not know where the nickname came from, and in a 2010 interview, he personally reiterated the same story.

Pele Foundation's Instagram post announcing the dictionary registration news of the word 'Pele' [Image source=Yonhap News]

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The Pel? Foundation, Santos FC where Pel? spent most of his playing career, and the Brazilian people all expressed their welcome upon hearing the news that Pel?'s name was registered in the dictionary. The Pel? Foundation wrote in an Instagram post, "The expression that has already been used to refer to the best in something will now remain in the dictionary forever. From now on, Pel? means 'the best.'"

The AP News reported that the word 'Pel?' was able to be included in the dictionary thanks to a signature campaign by more than 125,000 Brazilians who wanted to honor Pel? by having his name registered in the dictionary. AP also noted that when discussing the greatest player in football history, the only ones mentioned alongside Pel? are Argentina's 'football hero' Diego Maradona, who passed away in 2020, and the two players who recently dominated the football world, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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