diff --git a/code/error.lisp b/code/error.lisp
index b750072de14458a92aba4adcd58d564b9833f7f5..6ded6274011af510499bd9dc32c94d940b523171 100644
--- a/code/error.lisp
+++ b/code/error.lisp
@@ -382,7 +382,8 @@ The previous version is uglier, but it sets up unique run-time tags.
 
 ) ;eval-when
 
-(defmacro define-condition (name (parent-type) slot-specs &rest options)
+(defmacro define-condition (name (parent-type) &optional slot-specs
+				 &rest options)
   "(DEFINE-CONDITION name (parent-type)
    ( {slot-name | (slot-name) | (slot-name default-value)}*)
    options)"