Less-than sign

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Less-than sign
In Unicode	U+003C < LESS-THAN SIGN (<, &LT;)
Different from
Different from	U+2329 〈 LEFT-POINTING ANGLE BRACKET
Related
See also	U+003E > GREATER-THAN SIGN; U+2264 ≤ LESS-THAN OR EQUAL TO; U+2A7D ⩽ LESS-THAN OR SLANTED EQUAL TO used e.g. in Poland; U+226E ≮ NOT LESS-THAN; U+226A ≪ MUCH LESS-THAN

The less-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 left, <, has been found in documents dated as far back as the 1560s. In mathematical writing, the less-than sign is typically placed between two values being compared and signifies that the first number is less than the second number. Examples of typical usage include $.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1⁄2 < 1$ and $-2 < 0$ .

Since the development of computer programming languages, the less-than sign and the greater-than sign have been repurposed for a range of uses and operations.