The major objective of this paper is to explore some aspects of the correlation between language typology and contrastive lexicology in view of the cognitive-semantic approach to this study of meaning and outline its implications for translation theory. It is argued that contrastive lexicology is a theoretical-linguistic discipline intrinsically interconnected with lexical typology and, partly, with semantic typology of languages. Meaning as tertium comparationis of cross-linguistic comparison for contrastive and/or various kinds, i.e. frames, scripts, and image schemata, may serve as such a common denominator. The immediate advantage of cross-linguistic comparison in terms of cognitive models over feature analysis is that the former allows to bring into the focus of semantic investigation a variety of factors including common beliefs, national traditions, cultural inheritance, predominant religious faiths, generally-accepted moral values and even environmental conditions of a given speech community. Nevertheless, culture-based component of cognitive models is not sufficient enough for the purposes of translation theory. An adequate description of cultural component of Translation Studies implies the use of appropriate categories, analytical techniques and obtained results incorporated into translation theory from a number of academic disciplines.