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Description
The paper deals with vocabulary related to age and age groups, its semantic and pragmatic characteristics, and challenges it can pose for lexicographic description. The inventory and treatment of lexical items from the domain of age in contemporary Croatian general dictionaries and in the most comprehensive contemporary Danish dictionary are analysed regarding the semantic and pragmatic information provided, as well as the presence of age stereotypes or strategies to mitigate them. In Croatian dictionaries, many terms denoting older people or phenomena relevant to them are not listed. Semantic and pragmatic information, such as connotations or appropriateness, is incomplete and inconsistent, and examples reflect common stereotypes of young and old people. In the Danish dictionary, the inventory of lexical items is more comprehensive, the descriptions are more detailed, and pragmatic information is commonly provided. The examples are mostly realistic and neutral. However, a comparison with entries related to some other social groups indicates a slightly higher tolerance for age-related stereotypes.
