diff --git a/cygwin/GNUmakefile.in b/cygwin/GNUmakefile.in
index 192cf43b37..072be72822 100644
--- a/cygwin/GNUmakefile.in
+++ b/cygwin/GNUmakefile.in
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+gnumake = yes
+
 include Makefile
 
 ENABLE_SHARED=@ENABLE_SHARED@