diff --git a/man3/gethostid.3 b/man3/gethostid.3
index b355b0ffa..01d674ca2 100644
--- a/man3/gethostid.3
+++ b/man3/gethostid.3
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ _BSD_SOURCE || _XOPEN_SOURCE\ >=\ 500
 and
 .BR sethostid ()
 respectively get or set a unique 32-bit identifier for the current machine.
-The 32-bit identifier is intended to be unique among all UNIX systems in
+The 32-bit identifier was intended to be unique among all UNIX systems in
 existence.
 This normally resembles the Internet address for the local
 machine, as returned by