sourdough

English

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

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Audio (AU): (file)
Hyphenation: sour‧dough

sourdough (countable and uncountable, plural sourdoughs)

A type of bread dough leavened with yeast and lactobacilli that produce acids giving a sour taste. [from 14th c.]
(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."
(countable, Yukon) A permanent resident of the territory. Someone who has lived in the Yukon during all four seasons.
Antonym: cheechako

dough

old-timer

sourdough (not comparable)

made from sourdough