Zany definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (14)

American Heritage Dictionary (4)

noun A ludicrous, buffoonish character in old comedies who attempts feebly to mimic the tricks of the clown.
noun A comical person given to extravagant or outlandish behavior.
adjective Ludicrously comical; clownish.

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Century Dictionary (4)

A comic performer, originating on the Italian stage, whose function it is to make awkward attempts at mimicking the tricks of the professional clown, or the acts of other performers; hence, an apish buffoon in general; a merry-andrew; an amusing fool. He's like a zany to a tumbler, That tries tricks after him to make men laugh. B. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, iv. 1. Ile teach thee; thou shalt like my Zany be, And feigne to do my cunning after me. Heywood, Four Prentises of London (Works, ed. 1874, II. [203). The English apes and very zanies be Of everything that they do hear and see. Drayton, To Henry Reynolds. Preacher at once, and zany of thy age! Pope, Dunciad, iii. 206. He [Granvelle] had been wont, in the days of his greatest insolence, to speak of the most eminent nobles as zanies, lunatics, and buffoons. Motley, Dutch Republic, I. 402.
2. An attendant. Lady, Imperia the courtesan's zany hath brought you this letter from the poor gentleman in the deep dungeon, but would not stay till he had an answer. Middleton, Blurt, Master-Constable, iii. 1.
Synonyms Clown, Fool, Buffoon, Mimic, Zany. “The zany in Shakespere's day was not so much a buffoon and mimic as the obsequious follower of a buffoon and the attenuated mime of a mimic. He was the vice, servant, or attendant of the professional clown or fool, who, dressed like his master, accompanied him on the stage or in the ring, following his movements, imitating his tricks. and adding to the general merriment by his ludicrous failures and comic imbecility … The professional clown or fool might be clever and accomplished in his business, a skilful tumbler and mountebank, doing what he undertook to do thoroughly and well. But this was never the case with the zany. He was always slight and thin, well-meaning, but comparatively helpless, full of readiness, grimace, and alacrity, but also of incompetence. eagerly trying to imitate his superior, but ending in failure and absurdity … We have ourselves seen the clown and the zany in the ring together, the clown doing clever tricks, the zany provoking immense laughter by his ludicrous failures in attempting to imitate them. Where there is only a single clown. he often combines both the characters, doing skilful tumbling on his own account, and playing the zany to the riders.” (Edinburgh Rev., July, 1869, art. 4.)

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Examples (50)

Father Herrick's grown thick as thieves with the local zany, the old coot who calls himself Merlin, so he '11 be a able to slither his way out of this at avistic nightmare. — F ;SF; - vol 087 issue 04-05 - October-November 1994
Well, I have decided I must not hide from my strange Blog-life, or JW's legacy, or from "zany" — Blogtimore, Hon
There are times when it feels like the writers are reaching too far to come up with "zany" dialogue, rather than letting the game's own weirdness speak for itself. — Jay is Games
Whether or not you like their often zany, sometimes bizarre television advertising, we have to acknowledge one thing about the Smithe brothers -- Walter, Tim and Mark: They know how to keep the Walter E. Smithe furniture store brand in front of the public.
The strategy gets him into zany, slapstick-heavy trouble, but also helps him connect with his soulmate, Allison (Zooey Deschanel). — California Chronicle

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

French zani, from Italian dialectal zanni, from Zanni, variant of Italian Gianni, nickname for Giovanni, John, the name of servants who act as clowns in commedia dell'arte.

Century Dictionary (2)

from French zani, from Italian zanni, zane, a zany or clown; abbreviation of Giovanni, John: see John, and cf. English Jack in similar use.
from zany, n.

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