Homer

traditional name of the supposed author of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," from Latin Homerus, from Greek Homeros. It is identical to Greek homeros "a hostage," said to also mean in dialects "blind" (the connecting notion is "going with a companion"). But the name also has been otherwise explained.

short for home run, from 1868. It also meant "pigeon trained to fly home from a distance" (1880). As a verb in the baseball sense by 1946. Related: Homered; homering.