William Gifford
Did you know?
The oddballs among us are likely familiar with zany as an adjective, meaning "eccentric." But did you know the word originated as a noun—one that has withstood the test of time? Zanies have been theatrical buffoons since the heyday of the Italian commedia dell’arte, in which a "zanni" was a stock servant character, often an intelligent and proud valet with abundant common sense and a love of practical jokes. Zanni comes from a dialect nickname for Giovanni, the Italian form of John. The character quickly spread throughout European theater circles, inspiring such familiar characters as Pierrot and Harlequin, and by the late 1500s an anglicized version of the noun zany was introduced to English. The adjective appeared within decades, and eventually both adopted more general meanings to refer to or describe those of us who are quipsters and weirdos.
Examples of zany in a Sentence
Arkansas Online, 26 Apr. 2025
Doke plays Eyeball, a mischievous, zany artist who sees the world in her own idiosyncratic way and often lightens a heavy mood with a joke.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2025
De Carlo died of heart failure in 2007 at the age of 84.
03 of 06
Al Lewis as Grandpa Munster
Al Lewis’ zany Count Sam Dracula, a.k.a.
—John Russell, People.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The series is amply whimsical, but insufficiently funny or zany or deep.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zany
Cite this Entry
“Zany.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zany. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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zany
2 of 2 adjective
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