zany

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Amusingly unusual, silly, and unpredictable.

   The comedian is famous for his zany sense of humour and wild stunts.

2. 2
   noun

   A clown or buffoon, especially one who comically imitates another performer.

   In the old comedies, the zany would mimic every move the main clown made.

Simplified etymology

Zany comes from a Venetian form of the name Giovanni. In the 16th-century commedia dell’arte it was the name given to a clowning servant, from which the English sense developed.

From Middle French zani, zanni, from Italian zanni (“a kind of masked clown character”), from Zanni, a Venetan form of Giovanni. Doublet of Zanni, John, and Giovanni.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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