diff --git a/src/builtin_complete.cpp b/src/builtin_complete.cpp
index 19fcd435c..4d778b560 100644
--- a/src/builtin_complete.cpp
+++ b/src/builtin_complete.cpp
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ int builtin_complete(parser_t &parser, io_streams_t &streams, wchar_t **argv) {
 
         // Allow a limited number of recursive calls to complete (#3474).
         if (parser.libdata().builtin_complete_recursion_level >= 24) {
-            streams.err.append_format(L"%ls: maximum recursive depth reached\n", cmd);
+            streams.err.append_format(L"%ls: maximum recursion depth reached\n", cmd);
         } else {
             parser.libdata().builtin_complete_recursion_level++;
 
diff --git a/tests/checks/complete.fish b/tests/checks/complete.fish
index 6d4cd8faa..e8db603c7 100644
--- a/tests/checks/complete.fish
+++ b/tests/checks/complete.fish
@@ -87,4 +87,4 @@ complete -C'complete_test_recurse1 '
 # CHECKERR: recursing
 # CHECKERR: recursing
 # CHECKERR: recursing
-# CHECKERR: complete: maximum recursive depth reached
+# CHECKERR: complete: maximum recursion depth reached