This paper tackles an important topic of applied linguistics, namely lexicography.  Dictionaries of quotations are the subject of inquiry in this respect.
The aim of the paper is to prove that dictionaries of quotations are both lexicographic works in the proper sense following the well-established lexicographic traditions and adopting lexicological criteria. Furthermore, after establishing their scientific quality as dictionaries proper, the dictionaries of quotation under examination in the paper are proved- on a macro-level analysis-to be actual concordances of cultural concepts and intellectual history of the communities/regions they represent.
The paper attempts a contrastive descriptive analysis of three dictionaries of quotations within the light of lexicographic theories. Two of which are English and the third is Arabic. The two English dictionaries are The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1954, 2^nd edition), The American Familiar Quotations by Bartlett (11^th edition, 1946), and The Concise Collegiate Dictionary of Quotations by Al.Kasimi (1^st edition ,2012).
The three books are contrasted and judged as to their lexicographic features, the value of their macrostructures and microstructures. Aspects such as target users, definitions, corpora choice, front and back matter and functionality are tackled.
Two of these works are shown to function on two levels: the micro-level providing linguistic data and quotations about specific concepts or people; and a more elaborate macro-level of working as diachronic concordances to culture, concepts and social thought.