Sourdough (Noun)
Meaning 1
A leaven of dough in which fermentation is active; used by pioneers for making bread.
Classification
Nouns denoting substances.
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
A settler or prospector (especially in western United States or northwest Canada and Alaska).
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The grizzled prospector panned for gold in the creek, his bag of sourdough biscuits hanging at his side.
- After years of traveling the Yukon, the old settler's nickname "Sourdough Sam" stuck.
- The Klondike sourdoughs were a hardy breed, subsisting on beans and biscuits through the long winters.
- In the Wild West, being called a sourdough was a badge of honor among the frontier folk.
- The rugged explorer's pack held only a compass, a canteen, and a tin of sourdough biscuits.