What is the origin of the words Wrangler and senior wrangler?

Question

The title "wrangler" was given to a student otaining first class in the Cambridge Mathematics Tripos I examination. The student obtaining the highest marks used to be described as the "senior wrangler". These titles were officially abandoned by Cambridge in 1909. Can anybody tell me the etymological origin of these titles and how they came to be adopted by the Cambridge University.

Answer 1

The Oxford English Dictionary confirms that these words were used as you said, but doesn't explain why.

Still, the historical British meaning of "wrangler" is a person who excels at debate. So I can make the jump from that to a person who excelled in an examination.

The senior wrangler was the person who scored first, the second wrangler scored second, and so on, until the last person, who was called "the wooden spoon" according to Wikipedia.

I scrounged around at several web sites, but did not find any comment about why Cambridge chose this phrase (or why they abandoned it).

Thanks for the interesting question. I love obscure word and phrase origins.

Answer 2

From the website of Cambridge University's Faculty of Mathematics:

"Those in the top class were (and still are) called Wranglers in an echo of the old system of disputation. The candidates were listed in order of marks with the top candidate being 'Senior Wrangler' the next 'Second Wrangler' and so on. In one list ... the Senior Wrangler got more than 7,500 marks, the lowest Wrangler got about 1,500 marks and the lowest candidate to get honours (obtaining 'the wooden spoon') got 300 marks. Although the owner of the wooden spoon had 100 people above him, he in turn outclassed 300 'poll men' who failed or, more usually, did not attempt to obtain honours."

The 'old system of disputation' seems to mean that if you go far enough back, mathematicians in Cambridge used to have a public debate about their subject to determine who was best at it. Hence the use of the word 'wrangler' meaning disputant, person engaged in an argument.

Answer 3

I don't know about the Cambridge University origin but a Wrangler is the person who deals with all animals on a film set and the Senior Wrangler is his/her boss.

Anything is possible from an industry that has a Best Boy!