sourdough

Meaning

Noun

• A type of bread dough leavened with yeast and lactobacilli that produce acids giving a sour taste.
• An old-timer, especially in Alaska.
• A permanent resident of the territory. Someone who has lived in the Yukon during all four seasons.
• A 49er, a California Gold Rush miner.

Origin

• From Middle English soure dogh, soure dowhe, soure dowʒ, equivalent to , compare German Sauerteig. 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.