diff --git a/share/functions/man.fish b/share/functions/man.fish
index c9d3ff7f0..e0cacf4d9 100644
--- a/share/functions/man.fish
+++ b/share/functions/man.fish
@@ -1,20 +1,21 @@
 function man --description "Format and display the on-line manual pages"
-
     # Work around the "builtin" manpage that everything symlinks to,
     # by prepending our fish datadir to man. This also ensures that man gives fish's
     # man pages priority, without having to put fish's bin directories first in $PATH
 
-    # Notice local but exported variable
-    set -lx MANPATH (string join : $MANPATH)
-    if test -z "$MANPATH"
-        type -q manpath
-        and set MANPATH (command manpath)
+    set -l manpath
+    if set -q MANPATH
+        set manpath $MANPATH
+    else if command -qs manpath
+        set manpath (command manpath)
     end
+    # Notice local exported copy of the variable.
+    set -lx MANPATH $manpath
+
     set -l fish_manpath (dirname $__fish_datadir)/fish/man
     if test -d "$fish_manpath" -a -n "$MANPATH"
-        set MANPATH "$fish_manpath":$MANPATH
-
-        # Invoke man with this manpath, and we're done
+        set MANPATH $fish_manpath:$MANPATH
+        # Invoke man with this manpath, and we're done.
         command man $argv
         return
     end