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{{Short description|Mathematical symbol for "greater than"}}{{redirect|More than|the insurance company|More Than}}{{for | the use of the ">" sign as punctuation | Bracket#Angle brackets}}

factoids

2265nlink=Inequality (mathematics)}}{{Unichar|2A7E|GREATER-THAN OR SLANTED EQUAL TO}}{{unichar|226F|NOT GREATER-THAN}}{{unichar|226B|Much greater-than}} 232A|RIGHT-POINTING ANGLE BRACKET}}}}The greater-than sign is a mathematical symbol that denotes an inequality between two values. The widely adopted form of two equal-length strokes connecting in an acute angle at the right, {{char|>}}, has been found in documents dated as far back as 1631. In mathematical writing, the greater-than sign is typically placed between two values being compared and signifies that the first number is greater than the second number. Examples of typical usage include {{math|1.5 > 1}} and {{math|1 > −2}}. The less-than sign and greater-than sign always "point" to the smaller number. Since the development of computer programming languages, the greater-than sign and the less-than sign have been repurposed for a range of uses and operations.

History

The earliest known use of the symbols {{char|}} is found in (The Analytical Arts Applied to Solving Algebraic Equations) by Thomas Harriot, published posthumously in 1631. The text states " a > b a b (The sign of majority a > b indicates that a is greater than b)" and " a < b a b (The sign of minority a < b indicates that a is less than b)."According to historian Art Johnson, while Harriot was surveying North America, he saw a Native American with a symbol that resembled the greater-than sign,{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Charles L. |date=1964 |title=On the origin of ">" and "