Hace frío, hace calor - ¿qué es traducción literal? ¿etymology?
I fully accept that hace frío means it's cold outside, but I am really intrigued by etymology and it drives me crazy when I can't figure out why people use certain phrases to say certain things.
The outside makes cold or the outside does cold? That doesn't seem to make sense. Are we saying that the outside makes the weather, therefore the outside makes it cold? If not, what makes cold or does cold?
I am sure there are dozens of examples en inglés, as well. (like as well, lol.)
4 Answers
This is an interesting question, and I've often wondered the same thing. (I didn't do any research on it, however, because, quite frankly, I didn't care too much as long as I knew what it meant and when hacer was used vs. estar and other verbs for weather conditions. However...since you asked...I will. speculate:
I learned from a Spanish speaker that there are numerous aspects of the Spanish language which are perhaps best explained from the deep rooted religious aspects of the culture when the language was being formed. For example, this teacher explained that estar vivo & estar muerto (vs. using ser) is best explained by the religious concept of an everlasting spirit...one is merely alive on earth or dead in body but these are not part of our true essence as infinite spiritual beings.
I could be wrong, but my best guess regarding hace calor, etc. is that it may have a somewhat similar origin. God makes it hot, cold, windy, etc. Since everyone understands (at the time development of the language) that God is in control of all this stuff...there is no need to belabor the point and make the subject explicit. Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it until something better comes along. 
BTW, I also agree with Dani and others who contributed to the post referenced by NKM. When learning a new language, wondering "why?" for an idiomatic expression such as this is probably a obstacle to rapid learning. As long as you know what the expression means, and how to use it in the various tenses, etc., one is probably better off just accepting it as is without digging into the etymology. Digging into the etymology might be interesting but it probably contributes very little to learning the foreign language or learning how the speakers of that language might think.
Welcome to foreign languages. Every language has different ways of saying things. Don't even try to analyze. Just accept the difference and enjoy it.
Hello!
This link from 2011 might be pertinent to this subject. I dont understand the phrase "Hace calor"
Hope this helps.
Regards!
Take the expression or phrasal verb make up for. Does it make any sense to you?
It means compensate. Where do you see the compensation in "make up for"
When you say ; I will go crazy. Why do you use "go"? Are you walking to any place? This drives us crazy. But we have to accept it the way it is and enjoy it.
For us Spanish speakers it is really crazy. As Daniela said , enjoy the difference.
