ZANY, N. A Popular Character In Old Italian Plays, Who Imitated With
Ludicrous Incompetence The _buffone_, Or Clown, And Was Therefore The
Ape Of An Ape
ZANY, n. A popular character in old Italian plays, who imitated with
ludicrous incompetence the _buffone_, or clown, and was therefore the
ape of an ape; for the clown himself imitated the serious characters
of the play. The zany was progenitor to the specialist in humor, as
we to-day have the unhappiness to know him. In the zany we see an
example of creation; in the humorist, of transmission. Another
excellent specimen of the modern zany is the curate, who apes the
rector, who apes the bishop, who apes the archbishop, who apes the
devil.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
