To be logical, reasonable, or understandable; to have a clear meaning or purpose.
This phrase emerged in the 16th century from the literal meaning of 'sense' as understanding or perception. The construction follows the pattern of 'making' something abstract (like making peace or making time), where 'make' means to cause something to exist or happen.
Interestingly, 'make sense' can be both a question and a statement - 'Does this make sense?' versus 'This makes sense.' The phrase has become so fundamental to human communication that it's often the first thing we ask when explaining complex ideas, serving as a linguistic checkpoint for mutual understanding.
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