diff --git a/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module b/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module
index eb20c26590fd4d1240371b94f8c764324993a33a..9a10356e38edbca0b8d7775ac9fd0e257cfca43e 100644
--- a/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module
+++ b/core/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.module
@@ -859,7 +859,8 @@ function taxonomy_vocabulary_get_names() {
  *   A taxonomy term ID.
  *
  * @return
- *   An array of term objects which are the parents of the term $tid.
+ *   An array of term objects which are the parents of the term $tid, or an
+ *   empty array if parents are not found.
  */
 function taxonomy_get_parents($tid) {
   $parents = &drupal_static(__FUNCTION__, array());