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Many vs Zany - What's the difference?

many | zany |

As nouns the difference between many and zany

is that many is a multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd while zany is (obsolete) a fool or clown especially one whose business on the stage was to imitate foolishly the actions of the principal clown.

As a determiner many

is an indefinite large number of.

As a pronoun many

is a collective mass of people.

As an adjective zany is

unusual and bizarre in a funny, comical way; outlandish; clownish.

many

English

(wikipedia many)

Determiner

  • An indefinite large number of.
  • :
  • *Bible, (w) xvii.4:
  • *:Thou shalt be a father of many nations.
  • *
  • *:The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}

    Usage notes

    Many'' is used with plural nouns only (except in the combination many a). Its singular counterpart is much, which is used with uncountable nouns. ''Many'' and ''much merge in the comparison forms, which are more and most for both determiners.

    Antonyms

    * few

    Pronoun

    (English Pronouns)
  • A collective mass of people.
  • An indefinite large number of people or things.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
    • , chapter=4, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.}}

    Antonyms

    * few

    Derived terms

    * how many * many a * so many

    Quotations

    * 1611 — (King James Version of the Bible), 1:1 *: Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...

    Noun

    (manies)
  • A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd.
  • A considerable number.

    • Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    zany

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • unusual and bizarre in a funny, comical way; outlandish; clownish
  • ludicrously or incongruously comical

    • Synonyms

    * wacky

    Derived terms

    * zaniness

    Noun

    (zanies)
  • (obsolete) A fool or clown. Especially one whose business on the stage was to imitate foolishly the actions of the principal clown
  • * John Donne
    • Then write that I may follow, and so be / Thy echo, thy debtor, thy foil, thy zany .
  • * Alexander Pope
    • Preacher at once, and zany of thy age.
  • * 1898 , , (Moonfleet) Chapter 4
    • So there he caught me lying like a zany on the ground. You may guess I stood at attention soon enough, but told him I was looking at the founds to see if they wanted underpinning from the floods.

    References

    * 1949', John Dover Wilson (compiler), ' Life in Shakespeare's England. A Book of Elizabethan Prose , Cambridge at the University Press. 1st ed. 1911, 2nd ed. 1913, 8th reprint. In Glossary and Notes