Diccionario de la lengua española

Dictionary of the Spanish language by the Royal Spanish Academy, first published in 1780

The Diccionario de la lengua española (DLE; English: Dictionary of the Spanish language) is the authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language. It is produced, edited and published by the Royal Spanish Academy, with the participation of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language. It was first published in 1780, as the Diccionario de la lengua castellana

When the RAE was founded in 1713, one of its primary objectives was to compile an authoritative Spanish dictionary. Its first statutes said in 1715 that its purpose was to:
text=cultivate and stabilise the purity and elegance of the Castilian language, removing all the errors in words, modes of speech, and syntax that have been introduced by ignorance, vain affectation, carelessness, and the excessive freedom to innovate. It will be used to distinguish foreign words, phrases and constructions from our own, the outdated from the current, the low and rustic from the courtly and elevated, burlesque from seriousness, and, finally, the accurate from the inaccurate. The RAE's original motto of limpia, fija y da esplendor (It cleans, stabilises, and gives splendour [to the language]) was in more recent times modified to unifica, limpia y fija (it unifies, cleans, and stabilises). In 1995 it was still expected to "establish and spread the criteria of propriety and correctness". Despite this policy, in the 21st century the Academy has responded to criticism about definitions considered to be derogatory or racist such as trapacero ("swindler") for gitano ("gypsy") by saying that the dictionary tries to reflect actual usage, and that nothing is changed by removing the definition from the dictionary, education must be used to eradicate inappropriate usages. The earliest editions were more extensive: they included Latin translations of the entry, in some cases gave usage examples (especially in popular phrases), and summarized the word's etymology; contemporary editions do so concisely. The earliest editions had "x" entries that no longer appear individually. Historically, the decision to add, modify, or delete words from the dictionary has been made by the RAE, in consultation with other language authorities (especially in Latin America) when there was an uncertainty. This process continued between 1780 and 1992, but, since the 1992 edition, RAE committees, the Instituto de Lexicografía, and the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language—which specifically deals with American vocabulary—collaborate in producing the Dictionary of the Spanish Language.

The editions are listed on the RAE Web site, and the forewords of former editions can be accessed from there. Some editions, including the 1726–1739 Diccionario de autoridades, are available in facsimile, or for online search.

Until the twenty first edition, the DLE was published exclusively on paper. The 2001, twenty second edition was published on paper, CD ROM, and on the Internet with free access. The 23rd edition of 2014 was made available online with free access, incorporating modifications to be included in the twenty fourth print edition. Sample entries, with explanation of annotations and abbreviations, are available from the RAE Web site.

From the first edition (1780) through the fourth edition (1803), the dictionary was known as the Diccionario de la lengua castellana compuesto por la Real Academia Española (Dictionary of the Castilian language composed by the Spanish Royal Academy). From the fifth edition (1817) through the fourteenth edition (1914), it was known as the Diccionario de la lengua castellana por la Real Academia Española (Dictionary of the Castilian language by the Spanish Royal Academy). Starting with the fifteenth edition (1925), it has been known as the Diccionario de la lengua española (Dictionary of the Spanish language), to recognise the many regions of the Spanish speaking world. By 2021 few biased definitions remained in the updated online DLE;

In 2006, the Spanish Federation of Jewish Communities complained that some of the dictionary's entries and definitions about Judaism were racist and offensive. One definition of sinagoga (synagogue) was: "a meeting for illicit ends"; the nominal definition of 'synagogue' was given first, and the pejorative definition was so identified. This had been removed by 2021. In November 2014, Romani in Spain complained about RAE at the European Court of Human Rights. Yerba buena, an association of Spanish gitanos ("gypsies" in English), complained that one definition of Gitano: "one who practices deceit" or "one who tricks", is offensive and could encourage racism. The RAE responded that the word gitano is actually used with the meaning of "trickster" in Spanish, and that the dictionary documents the actual use of words; inappropriate use has to be eradicated by education, removing the word from the dictionary does not change its use: "we simply photograph the landscape; we do not create it". and in October 2015 it was changed, with trapacero included in the definitions in the updated online dictionary, but labelled "used as offensive or discriminatory". RAE also defined "woman" as the "weak sex". In November 2017, the term was examined and one month later it was changed.