Etymology

bezeg probably originally meant "blown-up, spongy branch", referring to a tree with spongy branches. In particular, elderberry pith is made of a light, spongy substance. Proto-Slavic *bъzъ (together with *bъzgъ, *bъzdъ, and *buzъ) does not have a reliable etymological basis. If the variant *bъzdъ is primary, it can perhaps be formed as a compound with the second Indo-European term, *-sdos ‎(“branch”) (Slovene veja, Greek ὄζος ‎(ózos), German Ast), the first term containing the Indo-European root *bʰew- ‎(“to blow, to swell up”) in different degrees of vowel gradation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈzə́k/, /ˈbə̀zək/
• Tonal orthography: bəzə̏g, bə̀zəg