differencesmeaning
After looking up examples and doing some research in dictionaries, the difference doesn't seem to be the material, function or thickness.
In particular I am interested in the usage of the word cable for cable driven robots. They exist in various sizes and materials. Typically the "cables"/"ropes" are made of metal or synthetic fibres. Could the "cables" be called "ropes" in this case?
In my mind, "inheritance" is almost exclusively used to deal with physical or monetary goods, features, or character traits; you can inherit your father's estate, you can inherit your mother's good looks, you can inherit your grandfather's business sense.
"Legacy" can be used in that same sense, but it can also have a much broader sense to refer to a situation that is set up for for the benefit of the descendents: "My father's legacy was the freewheeling, open, friendly town that bears his name: Fatherville." Or, "Our parents' legacy was not simply that they bequeathed us ten million dollars each, but that with that money in trust, we felt free to explore, experiment, and take risks that we would not have been able to, had we not had that safety net available."
(Also, as pointed out in some comments, "inheritance" is generally from the viewpoint of the receiver, while "legacy" is from the viewpoint of the giver: My inheritance was my father's legacy.)
The big difference is that cumulative is far more common than accumulative.
At the level of actual meaning, to the extent that accumulative is used at all, it tends to refer to someone/something doing the accumulating. By contrast, cumulative is more associated with that which is accumulated.
If the sense intended is acquisitive, just use that word. In all other cases, use cumulative.
Best Answer
The Oxford Dictionary Online defines cable in various ways but the most fundamental is
so the main difference is that a "cable" is a particular type of "rope", that is one that is large in diameter and, by another, nautical definition, around 200 yards long. The material from which it is made has no significance, a cable is a long, thick rope.
There are other definitions of "cable" mostly relating to electrical cables of some sort or another but these are derived from early electrical wiring's visual similarity to braided hemp, linen and steel ropes known as "cables" by the original definition.