Zany. We probably all think of it as “comic, acting like a buffoon to entertain others.” But did you know that it was actually originally a person (so a noun) in a comedy? Yep! A zany has been a comic performer since the 1580s. But you may be wondering where the word itself came from.
Interestingly, it’s just an anglicized spelling/pronunciation of the Venitian Gianni, a nickname for Giovanni–the Italian equivalent of “John.” Much like the English “Jack,” it was just a very common name that was given to a sort of “any man” character (think “Jack of all trades”).
So, in these comedic performances the name Gianni or Zanni/Zany was given to a comedic character meant to make the hero appear in a positive light.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.