ABSTRACT
Semantics and lexicography are interrelated. Here we offer a short overview of their mutual dependency focused particularly on the field of Spanish language. We analyze the relationship between meaning and definition, and summarize how this is expressed in dictionaries: homonymy vs. lemmas; polysemy vs. senses; collocations and light predicates vs. dictionary description. Regarding the role of semantics, we note that hyperonym determines the macrostructure of onomasiological dictionaries and the microstructure of monolingual general-purpose dictionaries. Semantic roles are present in some specific dictionaries. We reflect on meaning components and their lexicographic representations: synonymy and synthetic definitions, intension and analytic plus encyclopedic definitions, extension and prototypic definition. To conclude, we reflect on the future of both semantics and lexicography.
