4.15. Two Compound Math Operators

In many math documents the “greater than or approximately equal to” () or the “less than or approximately equal to” () operators are needed. However, LATEX does not include these compound operators in its fonts (although they are included in the AMS-LATEX fonts under the NFSS). These two operators can be constructed by placing the following in your preamble.

\makeatletter
					%------- Compound Math Operators by D. Arseneau
					\def\gsim{\compoundrel>\over\sim}
					\def\lsim{\compoundrel<\over\sim}
					\def\compoundrel#1\over#2{\mathpalette\compoundreL{{#1}\over{#2}}}
					\def\compoundreL#1#2{\compoundREL#1#2}
					\def\compoundREL#1#2\over#3{\mathrel
					{\vcenter{\hbox{$\m@th\buildrel{#1#2}\over{#1#3}$}}}}
					\makeatother