Rope
3 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Rope. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
The Encyclopedia of Founding (1892)
Any cord over an inch in diameter is called a rope. Ropes are principally made of vegetable fibre, the chief of which is hemp. Coir rope is made from the fibrous husk of the cocoanut; manilla rope from the fibres of a species of banana; in addition to which cotton and other similar substances enter largely into the business of rope-making. Wire rope, both iron and steel, is now extensively employed both on shipboard and on land. The machines invented by Mr. John Good, Brooklyn, N. Y., and others have made it possible to so manufacture ropes that their strength may be measured with the greatest exactness. Large cable-laid ropes consist of three large strands, each made up of three smaller strands. Hawser-laid rope has only three strands, each containing a sufficient number of yarns to make up the required thickness. TABLE OF DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS OF SHORT-LINKED CHAINS AND ROPES, AND PROOF OF THE CHAIN IN TONS. (HASWELL.) Diam. of Chain. Weight per Fathom. Proof Strain. Circum. of Rope. Weight of Rope per Fathom. Diam. of Chain. Weight per Fathom. Proof Strain. Circum. of Rope. Weight of Rope per Fathom. Inches. Lbs. Tons. Inches. Lbs. Inches. Lbs. Tons. Inches. Lbs. 5/16 6 .75 2 1/2 1.5 11/16 28 6.5 7 10.5 3/8 8.5 1.5 3 1/4 2.5 3/4 32 7.75 7 1/2 12 7/16 11 2.5 4 3.75 13/16 36 9.25 8 1/4 15 1/2 14 3.5 4 3/4 5 7/8 44 10.75 9 17.5 9/16 18 4.5 5 1/2 7 15/16 50 12.5 9 1/2 19.5 5/8 24 5.25 6 1/4 8.7 1 56 14 10 22 NOTE.--The ropes of the sizes given in the table are considered to be of equal strength with the chains.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a large, stout, twisted cord of hemp, of not less, generally, than an inch in circumference. A certain proportion of hemp twisted together forms a yarn, and a number of yarns form a strand. Three strands twisted together form a rope. Rope is either white or tarred, the latter being the best if liable to exposure to wet, the former if not exposed. The strength of tarred rope is, however, only about three-fourths that of white rope, and its loss of strength increases with time. Rope is designated by its circumference, expressed in inch inches, and is issued in coils of 113 fathoms each; marline and hambroline in skeins, spunyarn in pounds; the latter is made from old rope (junk). Government rope is distinguished by a colored thread, red, blue, or yellow, which runs through it. Rope used in the artillery service is coiled with the sun, i. e., from left to right, in which direction the yarns are twisted so as to avoid kinking. Coir rope, which comes from Ceylon and the Maldive Islands, is made from the fibrous husk of the cocoanut. Manila rope from the fibers of a species of wild banana. Wire rope, both iron and steel, is also employed; on shipboard, particularly, to a considerable extent.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
See Cordage