DCHP-2

Klondike Klondyke [< Kutchin tron-duik hammer river, a tributary of the Yukon River] DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1 n.

  a region in the Yukon Territory, including the Klondike river and its tributary creeks, scene of the great gold rush of the late 1890's.

  • 1896  (1897)  Klondak, Klondyke, or Clondyke, as it is variously spelled, is "a mispronunciation of the Indian word or words Thron-dak or Duick. . . ."
  • 1897  The gold deposits of the Klondike are probably unequalled in any part of the world either as to their extent or the significance of their discovery.
  • 1964  However, the past 60 years have obscured or distorted the extraordinary strength and endurance, and the Klondike wealth of the erstwhile sourdough who became a legendary character during his own lifetime.

• 2 n.

  a game of solitaire in which 28 cards are laid out in seven piles, the first of which has one card face up, the second two cards with the top one face up, and so on, the player using the rest of the deck and the exposed cards to build runs of alternating colors in an attempt to use up all the cards and thus make four complete runs.

  See also: Klondike game