The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
broket
/broh'k@t/, /broh?ket`/, n.
[rare; by analogy with ?bracket?: a ?broken bracket?] Either of the
characters < and >, when used as paired enclosing delimiters. This word
originated as a contraction of the phrase ?broken bracket?, that is, a
bracket that is bent in the middle. (At MIT, and apparently in the Real
World as well, these are usually called angle brackets.)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
broket
/broh'k*t/ or /broh'ket/ (From broken bracket)
Either of the characters "<" or ">" when used as paired
enclosing delimiters (angle brackets).
[Jargon File]
(1997-07-21)