Abstract:
The basic principles and requirements in applying lexicographical theory are dealt with in relation to the dictionaries published since the beginning of the 21st century. Special attention is paid to the unilingual dictionary, which has a long-established tradition not only in the Bulgarian language. The new dictionaries are connected with it in a specific way – they do not ignore its explanatory definitions, but further develop and enrich them. With their conception and structure the dictionaries published during the latest decades are the result of the development of lexicological science, showing new tendencies in lexicography. They integrate the different approaches to the interpretation of the word as a linguistic sign, as a symbol, and as a lexical unit. They reflect the postulated idea of the word as a basic linguistic unit, a basic linguistic sign, which performs not only denotative and communicative functions.
