diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/generic.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/generic.nix
index 69bb51e10f2..2067d6c7778 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/generic.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/generic.nix
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ assert withXwidgets -> withGTK3 && webkitgtk != null;
 let
 
 in stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  inherit pname version;
+  inherit pname version patches;
 
   src = fetchurl {
     url = "mirror://gnu/emacs/${name}.tar.xz";