Historical development of lexicography

Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:
• Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
• Theoretical lexicography is the scholarly discipline of analyzing and describing the semantic, syntagmatic and paradigmaticrelationships within the lexicon (vocabulary) of a language, developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in dictionaries, the needs for information by users in specific types of situation, and how users may best access the data incorporated in printed and electronic dictionaries. This is sometimes referred to as 'metalexicography'.