diff --git a/lisp/cus-edit.el b/lisp/cus-edit.el
index d00c364d8e2..ef5be496fb0 100644
--- a/lisp/cus-edit.el
+++ b/lisp/cus-edit.el
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ Return a list suitable for use in `interactive'."
 	 val)
      (setq val (completing-read 
 		(if (symbolp v)
-		    (format "Customize variable: (default %s) " v)
+		    (format "Customize option: (default %s) " v)
 		  "Customize variable: ")
 		obarray (lambda (symbol)
 			  (and (boundp symbol)