adj. & n.
adj. (zanier, zaniest) comically idiotic; crazily ridiculous.
n. 1 a buffoon or jester. 2 hist. an attendant clown awkwardly mimicking a chief clown in shows; a merry andrew. zanily adv. zaniness n.
[ F zani or It. zan(n)i, Venetian form of Gianni, Giovanni John ]