sourdough

From Middle English sour dogh, equivalent to sour +‎ dough, compare German Sauerteig and Dutch zuurdeeg. The senses pertaining to California, Alaska and the Yukon derive from the distinctive pouches of bread starter (starter dough used to make sourdough) worn on a belt or around the neck by experienced prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush and California Gold Rush.^[1][2]

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊɚˌdoʊ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊəˌdəʊ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sour‧dough

sourdough (countable and uncountable, plural sourdoughs)

1. A type of bread dough leavened with yeast and lactobacilli that produce acids giving a sour taste. [from 14th c.]

   Synonym: sourdough bread

2. (countable, slang) An old-timer, especially in Alaska. [from 1898]
   • 1944, Ernie Pyle, Brave Men, University of Nebraska Press (2001), page 80:

     "The troops went for those fresh tomatoes like sourdoughs going for gold in the Klondike."

3. (countable, Yukon) A permanent resident of the territory. Someone who has lived in the Yukon during all four seasons.

   Antonym: cheechako

4. (countable, historical) A 49er, a California Gold Rush miner.
5. (obsolete) Leaven; an agent that makes dough rise.

• (dough): sour dough

• sourdough on Wikipedia.Wikipedia