zany
[zey-nee]
- ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.
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- one who plays the clown or fool in order to amuse others.
- a comically wild or eccentric person.
- a secondary stock character in old comedies who mimicked his master.
- a professional buffoon; clown.
- a silly person; simpleton.
- a slavish attendant or follower.
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Origin of zany
1560–70; (< Middle French) < Italian zan(n)i (later zanno) a servant character in the commedia dell’arte, perhaps orig. the character's name, the Upper Italian form of Tuscan Gianni, for Giovanni John
Synonyms
See more synonyms for zany on Thesaurus.com3. kook, crazy, lunatic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for zaniness
Contemporary Examples
Gingrich Restrains His Zaniness Newt confesses that he's been editing his words in an effort not to appear to be "zany."
But whatever her professions of zaniness, lately Barrymore has seemed awfully grown up.
zany
- comical in an endearing way; imaginatively funny or comical, esp in behaviour
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- a clown or buffoon, esp one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect
- a ludicrous or foolish person
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Word Origin
C16: from Italian zanni, from dialect (Venice and Lombardy) Zanni, nickname for Giovanni John; one of the traditional names for a clown
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for zaniness
zany
adj.
1869, from zany (n.). Related: Zanily; zaniness.
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zany
n.
comic performer, 1580s, from French zani, from Italian zani, zanni "a zany, clown," originally Zanni, Venetian dialect variant of Gianni, pet form of Giovanni "John." A stock character in old comedies, he aped the principal actors.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper