diff --git a/lisp/obsolete/autoload.el b/lisp/obsolete/autoload.el
index fae5db0fd52..ecf931d0881 100644
--- a/lisp/obsolete/autoload.el
+++ b/lisp/obsolete/autoload.el
@@ -723,7 +723,7 @@ autoloads into the specified file instead."
 
 ;;;###autoload
 (defun make-directory-autoloads (dir output-file)
-  "Update autoload definitions for Lisp files in the directories DIRS.
+  "Update autoload definitions for Lisp files in the directories DIR.
 DIR can be either a single directory or a list of
 directories.  (The latter usage is discouraged.)