diff --git a/lisp/format-spec.el b/lisp/format-spec.el
index ee545d6d972..f418cea4259 100644
--- a/lisp/format-spec.el
+++ b/lisp/format-spec.el
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ For instance:
 
 Each format spec can have modifiers, where \"%<010b\" means \"if
 the expansion is shorter than ten characters, zero-pad it, and if
-it's longer, chop off characters from the left size\".
+it's longer, chop off characters from the left side\".
 
 The following modifiers are allowed: