Zanni
/ˈdzan.ni/noun
A stock comic servant character in Italian commedia dell'arte.
Did you know?Zanni is one of the classic commedia dell'arte types, and the name is tied to a northern Italian form of Giovanni, showing how a common personal name became a theatrical archetype.
Etymological Timeline
Late Medieval Italian
Italian
Zanni
“A servant-name and comic servant type, especially in popular theater”
Earlier Italian dialects
Italo-Romance
Zane / Zanni
“Regional forms of the personal name Giovanni (John)”
Late Latin
Latin
Iohannes
“The given name John”
Greek
Greek
Iōánnēs
“John”
Hebrew
Hebrew
Yôḥānān
“Yahweh has been gracious”