diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 69ec11e7a..ac63bd788 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ INSTALL_INFO = install-info
 #
 # This is particularly useful when EMACS is set in ~/.bash_profile
 #
-EMACS := $(shell which "$${EMACS}" || which "emacs")
+EMACS := $(shell which "$${EMACS}" 2> /dev/null || which "emacs")
 EMACS_VERSION := $(shell "$(EMACS)" -Q --batch --eval '(princ emacs-version)')
 
 EFLAGS = --eval "(add-to-list 'load-path (expand-file-name \"tests/compat\") 'append)" \