Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *běžati, a variant of *běgati, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰegʷ- ‎(“to run”); cognate with Upper Sorbian běžeć, Russian бежа́ть ‎(bežátʹ), Serbo-Croatian b(j)èžati and more distantly with Ancient Greek φέβομαι ‎(phébomai, “I flee”) and Old Norse bekkr ‎(“brook, creek”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲiɪ̯ʒaɕ/