diff --git a/man2/request_key.2 b/man2/request_key.2
index 5e466cac9..ef07a47cb 100644
--- a/man2/request_key.2
+++ b/man2/request_key.2
@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ other process will be searched next,
 using that other process's user ID, group ID,
 supplementary group IDs, and security context to control access.
 .P
-The keys in each keyring searched are checked for a match before any child
+The search of the keyring tree is breadth-first:
+the keys in each keyring searched are checked for a match before any child
 keyrings are recursed into.
 Only keys that are
 .B searchable