Why is one string greater than the other when comparing strings in JavaScript?

"one" starts with 'o', "four" starts with 'f', 'o' is later in the alphabet than 'f' so "one" is greater than "four". See this page for some nice examples of JavaScript string comparisons (with explanations!).

Because, as in many programming languages, strings are compared lexicographically.

You can think of this as a fancier version of alphabetical ordering, the difference being that alphabetic ordering only covers the 26 characters a through z.

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This answer is in response to a java question, but the logic is exactly the same. Another good one: String Compare "Logic".