diff --git a/misc/Makefile b/misc/Makefile
index 504bcdbc8..79b712c21 100644
--- a/misc/Makefile
+++ b/misc/Makefile
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ DESTDIR =
 ICONSIZES = 16 24 32 48 64 128 256 512
 DATAROOTDIR = $(PREFIX)/share
 DATADIR ?= $(DATAROOTDIR)
-MANDIR = $(DATAROOTDIR)/man
+MANDIR ?= $(DATAROOTDIR)/man
 
 SETUPTOOLSOPTIONS =
 ifdef DESTDIR