From Middle French zani, zanni, from Italian zanni, from Zanni, a dialectal form of Giovanni.

• IPA: /ˈzeɪni/

zany (comparative zanier, superlative zaniest)

1. Unusual and awkward in a funny, comical manner; outlandish; clownish.
2. Ludicrously or incongruously comical.

• wacky

• French: loufoque, farfelu
• German: verrückt, durchgeknallt
• Italian: demenziale
• Portuguese: bobo
• Russian: сумасше́дший
• Spanish: alocado, disparatado, chiflado

zany (plural zanies)

1. (obsolete) A fool or clown, especially one whose business on the stage is to imitate foolishly the actions of the principal clown.
   • a. 1631, John Donne, Epistle to Mr. I. W.:

     Then write that I may follow, and so be / Thy echo, thy debtor, thy foil, thy zany.

   • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC ↗:

     So there he caught me lying like a zany on the ground. You may guess I stood at attention soon enough, but told him I was looking at the founds to see if they wanted underpinning from the floods.

zany (zanies, present participle zanying; simple past and past participle zanied)

1. (obsolete) To mimic foolishly.