Question for Dostoevsky specialists, especially Karamazov, scholars

[colkitto]

Mnogouvazaemye SEELANGovcy
Dostojevskovedy

In Karamazov there is a character nicknamed Лягавый (in VIII:2) .
Apparently the nickname denotes a type of hunting dog.  The form, absent
from Dal, is an archaic form of  Легавый.

As Karamazov has about 800-1000 pages, it is probably possible to discuss
the work in detail without any treatment of the name Лягавый.

But on odd occasions it will turn up.

Please answer the following question off the cuff , without looking up - I'm
interested in general impressions, sort of intuition-based cultural
connotations, etc..

How obscure do you feel the term Лягавый is? Do you have to explain it to
students?

Thanks in advance,

Robert Orr 

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