This article analyses the problem of reflection of the lexis of Spanish language on the example of the latest contemporary edition of the most authoritative dictionary of Spanish language, the Dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy (DRAE). Methods of the dictionary are considered in the context of other academic works, published during three centuries since the year 1714, when the Academy was established. The analysis held allows to prove the hypothesis concerning the tendencies of the development of the academic tradition in the sphere of lexicography.