diff --git a/lisp/emacs-lisp/lisp-mode.el b/lisp/emacs-lisp/lisp-mode.el
index a488b954422..566a1053555 100644
--- a/lisp/emacs-lisp/lisp-mode.el
+++ b/lisp/emacs-lisp/lisp-mode.el
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@
   (make-local-variable 'comment-start)
   (setq comment-start ";")
   (make-local-variable 'comment-start-skip)
-  (setq comment-start-skip ";+ *")
+  (setq comment-start-skip "\\(^;\\|[^\\];\\) *")
   (make-local-variable 'comment-column)
   (setq comment-column 40)
   (make-local-variable 'comment-indent-function)