Abstract
This study examines the treatment of names of living beings in three major Albanian dictionaries (1954, 1980, and 2006) through a comparative diachronic lexical-semantic analysis based on systematically constructed tabulated data. The corpus comprises denominations of domestic animals, wild animals, birds, and fish, organized according to identical criteria to enable direct comparison across lexicographic sources. The analysis addresses both quantitative and semantic developments. The tabulated data indicate a gradual increase in the number of lexical units across all categories from 1954 to 2006, with the most pronounced growth observed in denominations of birds and domestic animals. At the semantic level, the findings reveal a clear developmental trajectory: a predominance of monosemy in the 1954 dictionary, a significant expansion of polysemy in the 1980 dictionary, and a tendency toward stabilization and consolidation of meanings in the 2006 dictionary. The study further identifies differentiated semantic patterns across categories. Birds and domestic animals demonstrate greater lexical enrichment and fluctuation, whereas fish and wild animals exhibit comparatively greater stability. Based on the tabulated data, the lexical field appears to be structurally organized into a paradigmatic core, an intermediate dynamic zone, and a peripheral zone. Overall, the findings suggest that the development of names of living beings in Albanian dictionaries reflects both internal semantic processes and evolving lexicographic principles, underscoring the dynamic and stratified nature of this lexical field.