diff --git a/lisp/erc/erc.el b/lisp/erc/erc.el
index c3476384659..3462aa4db0e 100644
--- a/lisp/erc/erc.el
+++ b/lisp/erc/erc.el
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
 
 ;;; Code:
 
-(load "erc-loaddefs" nil t)
+(load "erc-loaddefs" 'noerror 'nomessage)
 
 (require 'cl-lib)
 (require 'format-spec)