Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.

• Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
• Theoretical lexicography is the scholarly study of semantic, orthographic, syntagmatic and paradigmatic features of lexemes of 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 situations, and how users may best access the data incorporated in printed and electronic dictionaries. This is sometimes referred to as "metalexicography".

ভাষাবিজ্ঞানের একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ শাখা হলে অভিধান বিজ্ঞান । অভিধান রচনার ধারা যথেষ্টই প্রাচীন। অভিধান রচনার ধারায় পৃথিবীর সব দেশই বিশেষ পরিপুষ্টি লাভ করেছে।