Rushdie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The surname of Salman Rushdie, a British-Indian novelist best known for his controversial book The Satanic Verses
2. A name borne by Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born British author of acclaimed novels such as Midnight's Children
3. Refers to Salman Rushdie, a novelist of Indian birth who writes fiction exploring postcolonial identity and religion

Etymology: Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian novelist whose family name has become best known through his writing. He was born in Bombay and made his reputation with "Midnight's Children," a novel about India's independence that won the Booker Prize. The surname itself is simply his inherited family name, and the novelist's public life has given it a wider reach than most surnames have. The book that brought him the most attention was "The Satanic Verses," whose publication led to a fatwa calling for his death, issued by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini. For years he lived under police protection, and the controversy turned his name into shorthand for disputes over blasphemy, free expression, and religious offence. Any etymology of the name itself would need a reliable source, which this entry does not give, so the story that matters here is the one attached to the man.