a variant or alternate spelling of 'zany,' meaning comically wild or eccentric; also a character type from Italian commedia dell'arte.
From Italian 'zanni,' a servant character in commedia dell'arte comedy. The word may derive from 'Giovanni' (John), as it was a common servant's name.
Zanni characters were the slapstick comedians of 1500s Italian street theater—they invented pratfalls and physical comedy that directly inspired modern comedy, from Charlie Chaplin to Jim Carrey.
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