diff --git a/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.1 b/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.1
index bf21ccf1d834..4781369d7608 100644
--- a/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.1
+++ b/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.1
@@ -116,6 +116,12 @@ option; if that file already exists, it is backed up first.
 If
 .I patchfile
 is omitted, or is a hyphen, the patch will be read from standard input.
+If a
+\fB\-i\fP
+argument is specified, the filename following it will be used, instead of
+standard input. You may specify only one
+\fB\-i\fP
+directive.
 .PP
 Upon startup, patch will attempt to determine the type of the diff listing,
 unless over-ruled by a
@@ -320,6 +326,11 @@ Note that a larger fuzz factor increases the odds of a faulty patch.
 The default fuzz factor is 2, and it may not be set to more than
 the number of lines of context in the context diff, ordinarily 3.
 .TP 5
+.B "\-i patchfile"
+tells
+.I patch
+to apply \fBpatchfile\fP instead of stdin.
+.TP 5
 .B "\-I, \-\-index-first"
 forces
 .I patch
@@ -453,7 +464,7 @@ causes
 .I patch
 to print out its revision header and patch level.
 .TP 5
-.B "\-V method, \-\-version\-\-control=method"
+.B "\-V method, \-\-version\-control=method"
 causes
 .B method
 to be interpreted as a method for creating
diff --git a/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.c b/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.c
index 0b49410fa356..76ddd8a28f74 100644
--- a/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.c
+++ b/gnu/usr.bin/patch/patch.c
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ reinitialize_almost_everything()
 	fatal1("you may not change to a different patch file\n");
 }
 
-static char *shortopts = "-b:B:cCd:D:eEfF:IlnNo:p::r:RsStuvV:x:";
+static char *shortopts = "-b:B:cCd:D:eEfF:i:IlnNo:p::r:RsStuvV:x:";
 static struct option longopts[] =
 {
   {"suffix", 1, NULL, 'b'},
@@ -540,6 +540,9 @@ get_some_switches()
 	    case 'F':
 		maxfuzz = atoi(optarg);
 		break;
+	    case 'i':
+		filearg[1] = savestr(optarg);
+		break;
 	    case 'I':
 		index_first = TRUE;
 		break;
@@ -601,7 +604,7 @@ Usage: %s [options] [origfile [patchfile]] [+ [options] [origfile]]...\n",
 		fprintf(stderr, "\
 Options:\n\
        [-cCeEflnNRsStuv] [-b backup-ext] [-B backup-prefix] [-d directory]\n\
-       [-D symbol] [-F max-fuzz] [-o out-file] [-p[strip-count]]\n\
+       [-D symbol] [-F max-fuzz] [-i patchfile] [-o out-file] [-p[strip-count]]\n\
        [-r rej-name] [-V {numbered,existing,simple}] [--check] [--context]\n\
        [--prefix=backup-prefix] [--suffix=backup-ext] [--ifdef=symbol]\n\
        [--directory=directory] [--ed] [--fuzz=max-fuzz] [--force] [--batch]\n\