- What's the natural fiber rope colloquially called?
- And what about the synthetic fiber one, what is it called too?
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I believe that this will mostly depend on the material, e.g. nylon, linen. A few simple words I can think of are twine, yarn, and maybe thread. But a thread would be small. You picture makes me think of hawser.– Damkerng T.Jan 22, 2014 at 18:08
1 Answer
There are no distinct English words in common usage for rope made from one fiber or another. When necessary to specify it, the material is added as an attributive, whether natural or synthetic:
- nylon rope
- jute rope
- Kevlar rope
- silk rope
- manila rope
and so on. The same applies for terms for rope based on size or construction, such as twine or cord or webbing.
Certain terms are associated with a particular use of rope, for which one material might be inferred, but you cannot apply that term to a different use— one person's mooring line and another person's climbing rope may both be made of woven nylon, but they refer to different tools for different uses.