Suspension bridges, tire swings, sometimes strategically placed above rivers or ponds, and large gongs and their strikers (hammers) are often suspended with rope.
In some cases at least, horses or ponies hauled chains, ropes or cables attached to canal boats and walked along towpaths beside these waterways.
Halyards, ropes and stays
Stays, lines, ropes and halyards.
Modern Marvels - 1994 Ropes and Chains was released on: USA: 28 January 2011
rigging
The word "swing" can be a verb or a noun. As a verb, it signifies the action of moving back and forth or turning around a fixed point. As a noun, it refers to a seat suspended by ropes or chains that can be used for swinging.
Ropes can be called lines, cables, and cords.
ring ropes are vinyl covered elevator cables. you would be hard pressed to find anything comparable.
They can't be designed not to. Large cables and ropes are extremely different to stretch straight, because of their high weight-to-length ratio.
Tension
The Hanging Gardens probably did not really "hang" in the sense of being suspended from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greek word kremastos, or the Latin word pensilis, which means not just "hanging", but "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.
The force exerted on the supported ropes of a hammock when you lie on it is tension. The ropes experience a tensile force pulling in opposite directions to support your weight and keep you suspended.