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Michaelis, a Brazilian dictionary, has added "Pelé" as an adjective in honor of the three-time World Cup champion. In the Portuguese language,  "Pelé" will now be used to describe someone who is "exceptional, incomparable, unique."

This was part of a campaign initiated by Pelé Foundation and Sportv to honor the athlete's everlasting impact well beyond the soccer field. The Associated Press reported that the petition gathered more than 125,000 signatures.

"The one that is extraordinary, or who because of his quality, value or superiority cannot be matched to anything or anyone, just like Pelé; nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), considered the best athlete of all time; exceptional, incomparable, unique. Examples: He is the Pelé of basketball, she is the Pelé of tennis, she is the Pelé of Brazilian theater, he is the Pelé of medicine," reads the official definition in the Michaelis dictionary.

Pelé, whose real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died on Dec. 29, 2022 after a battle with colon cancer. His first international match with Brazil was against Argentina on July 7, 1957 at the Maracanã Stadium. Pelé was just 16 years and nine months old at the time of that game. He made history that day as he registered his first goal, one of the 77 goals he scored through the 92 international games of his career. He was the youngest player to score a goal for his country and is still Brazil's all-time top scorer.

At the age of 17 years and 239 days, Pelé also became the youngest player to score a goal on the big stage at the 1958 Sweden FIFA World Cup.

Now Pelé is not just in the soccer record books, he will now also be part of people's vocabulary.

According to Reuters, Pelé's family was presented with a plaque with the dictionary entry. "Pelé" has already been added to the digital edition of Michaelis and will be included in the next printed version.