diff --git a/share/functions/colon.fish b/share/functions/colon.fish
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b41ad1e4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/share/functions/colon.fish
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+function :
+    # no-op function for compatibility with sh, bash, and others.
+    # Often used to insert a comment into a chain of commands without having
+	# it eat up the remainder of the line, handy in Makefiles.
+end
diff --git a/src/env.cpp b/src/env.cpp
index 6ff150668..c4209ceac 100644
--- a/src/env.cpp
+++ b/src/env.cpp
@@ -746,6 +746,12 @@ static void setup_user(bool force) {
     }
 }
 
+void misc_init_with_paths() {
+    // Since ':' can cause problems in filenames, the : function is saved to colon.fish
+    // But that means it isn't autoloaded since the name doesn't match the function.
+    bool loaded = function_load(L"colon");
+}
+
 /// Various things we need to initialize at run-time that don't really fit any of the other init
 /// routines.
 void misc_init() {
@@ -763,7 +769,7 @@ void misc_init() {
     // MS Windows tty devices do not currently have either a read or write timestamp. Those
     // respective fields of `struct stat` are always the current time. Which means we can't
     // use them. So we assume no external program has written to the terminal behind our
-    // back. This makes multiline promptusable. See issue #2859 and
+    // back. This makes multiline prompt usable. See issue #2859 and
     // https://github.com/Microsoft/BashOnWindows/issues/545
     has_working_tty_timestamps = false;
 #else
diff --git a/src/env.h b/src/env.h
index 543b4dd11..7f6050e5e 100644
--- a/src/env.h
+++ b/src/env.h
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ void env_init(const struct config_paths_t *paths = NULL);
 /// Various things we need to initialize at run-time that don't really fit any of the other init
 /// routines.
 void misc_init();
+/// Same as misc_init() but after configuration paths have been loaded
+void misc_init_with_paths();
 
 class env_var_t {
    private:
diff --git a/src/fish.cpp b/src/fish.cpp
index 5568086b7..2568a4558 100644
--- a/src/fish.cpp
+++ b/src/fish.cpp
@@ -384,6 +384,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
 
     const io_chain_t empty_ios;
     if (read_init(paths)) {
+        // Additional initialization that must occur after paths are loaded
+        misc_init_with_paths();
+
         // Stomp the exit status of any initialization commands (issue #635).
         proc_set_last_status(STATUS_CMD_OK);
 
diff --git a/src/function.cpp b/src/function.cpp
index f15b06739..8d0ab1d12 100644
--- a/src/function.cpp
+++ b/src/function.cpp
@@ -194,11 +194,13 @@ int function_exists(const wcstring &cmd) {
     return loaded_functions.find(cmd) != loaded_functions.end();
 }
 
-void function_load(const wcstring &cmd) {
+bool function_load(const wcstring &cmd) {
     if (!parser_keywords_is_reserved(cmd)) {
         scoped_rlock locker(functions_lock);
-        load(cmd);
+        return load(cmd) == 0;
     }
+
+    return false; //not loaded
 }
 
 int function_exists_no_autoload(const wcstring &cmd, const env_vars_snapshot_t &vars) {
diff --git a/src/function.h b/src/function.h
index 5adfabb18..d72d9453f 100644
--- a/src/function.h
+++ b/src/function.h
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ void function_set_desc(const wcstring &name, const wcstring &desc);
 int function_exists(const wcstring &name);
 
 /// Attempts to load a function if not yet loaded. This is used by the completion machinery.
-void function_load(const wcstring &name);
+bool function_load(const wcstring &name);
 
 /// Returns true if the function with the name name exists, without triggering autoload.
 int function_exists_no_autoload(const wcstring &name, const env_vars_snapshot_t &vars);