This last week I had my bicycle worked on and I heard the word chicote for the second time. The first time was a couple of weeks ago a man was talking about the accelerator cable on his car. On my bicycle the mechanic was talking about the brake and gear cables.

When I looked up the word chicote I found that it more commonly means a whip, as in something you use to prod an animal.

Is the use of the word chicote when referring to a cable unique to Mexico?