diff --git a/gas/ChangeLog b/gas/ChangeLog
index b1482691f1..52da47a6da 100644
--- a/gas/ChangeLog
+++ b/gas/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+2001-09-30  H.J. Lu  <hjl@gnu.org>
+
+	* config/obj-elf.c (obj_elf_parse_section_letters): Accept "am"
+	and "ams" for compatibility.
+
 2001-09-30  Hans-Peter Nilsson  <hp@bitrange.com>
 
 	* config/tc-sh.c (md_pcrel_from_section): Transformed from
diff --git a/gas/config/obj-elf.c b/gas/config/obj-elf.c
index b84a4b0b90..6e73d87630 100644
--- a/gas/config/obj-elf.c
+++ b/gas/config/obj-elf.c
@@ -757,6 +757,18 @@ obj_elf_parse_section_letters (str, len)
 	case 'S':
 	  attr |= SHF_STRINGS;
 	  break;
+	/* Compatibility.  */
+	case 'm':
+	  if (*(str - 1) == 'a')
+	    {
+	      attr |= SHF_MERGE;
+	      if (len > 1 && str[1] == 's')
+		{
+		  attr |= SHF_STRINGS;
+		  str++, len--;
+		}
+	      break;
+	    }
 	default:
 	  {
 	    char *bad_msg = _("Unrecognized .section attribute: want a,w,x,M,S");