Nearby Words

Zany

[zey-nee] Example Sentences Origin

za·ny

[zey-nee] adjective, -ni·er, -ni·est, noun, plural -nies.
adjective
1.
ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.
noun
2.
one who plays the clown or fool in order to amuse others.
3.
a comically wild or eccentric person.
4.
a secondary stock character in old comedies who mimicked his master.
5.
a professional buffoon; clown.
6.
a silly person; simpleton.
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7.
a slavish attendant or follower.
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Zany is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

Origin:
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

za·ni·ly, adverb
za·ni·ness, za·ny·ism, noun
za·ny·ish, adjective


3. kook, crazy, lunatic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Zany
Example Sentences
  • His largest and best measured four feet in length, with a headlight-sized mirror and the zany appearance of a ray gun.
  • The soldiers entertained us with zany manoeuvres in their ancient tanks.
  • Whimsical colors and zany style dress up soaring ceilings and tall windows.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
zany (ˈzeɪnɪ)
 
adj , -nier, -niest
1.  comical in an endearing way; imaginatively funny or comical, esp in behaviour
 
n , -nier, -niest, -nies
2.  a clown or buffoon, esp one in old comedies who imitated other performers with ludicrous effect
3.  a ludicrous or foolish person
 
[C16: from Italian zanni, from dialect (Venice and Lombardy) Zanni, nickname for Giovanni John; one of the traditional names for a clown]
 
'zanily
 
adv
 
'zaniness
 
n
 
'zanyism
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

zany
comic performer, 1588, from Fr. zani, from It. zani, zanni "a zany, clown," originally Zanni, Venetian dial. variant of Gianni, pet form of Giovanni "John." A stock character in old comedies, he aped the principal actors. The adj. is attested by 1869, from the noun.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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