'zany' originates from Italian, specifically the word 'zanni', where 'zanni' meant 'comic servant' (from the personal name 'Gianni').

'zany' changed from the Italian theatrical term 'zanni' (a stock comic servant character in commedia dell'arte) into English in the 16th–17th century as a noun for a buffoon and later an adjective; it eventually became the modern English word 'zany'.

Initially, it meant 'comic actor or buffoon', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'amusingly unconventional; eccentric'.