diff --git a/lisp/startup.el b/lisp/startup.el
index 9c3a684a840..da05912d92f 100644
--- a/lisp/startup.el
+++ b/lisp/startup.el
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ or `CVS', and any subdirectory that contains a file named `.nosearch'."
 
   ;; Choose a reasonable location for temporary files.
   (custom-reevaluate-setting 'temporary-file-directory)
-  (custom-reevaluate-setting 'small-emporary-file-directory)
+  (custom-reevaluate-setting 'small-temporary-file-directory)
   (custom-reevaluate-setting 'auto-save-file-name-transforms)
 
   ;; See if we should import version-control from the environment variable.