diff --git a/man/lvm.8_main b/man/lvm.8_main
index 31c4d7ee2..7506eaf60 100644
--- a/man/lvm.8_main
+++ b/man/lvm.8_main
@@ -11,8 +11,20 @@ lvm \(em LVM2 tools
 .
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 .
-lvm provides the command-line tools for LVM2.  A separate
-manual page describes each command in detail.
+
+The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) provides tools to create virtual block
+devices from physical devices.  Virtual devices may be easier to manage
+than physical devices, and can have capabilities beyond what the physical
+devices provide themselves.  A Volume Group (VG) is a collection of one or
+more physical devices, each called a Physical Volume (PV).  A Logical
+Volume (LV) is a virtual block device that can be used by the system or
+applications.  Each block of data in an LV is stored on one or more PV in
+the VG, according to algorithms implemented by Device Mapper (DM) in the
+kernel.
+.P
+
+The lvm command, and other commands listed below, are the command-line
+tools for LVM.  A separate manual page describes each command in detail.
 .P
 If \fBlvm\fP is invoked with no arguments it presents a readline prompt
 (assuming it was compiled with readline support).
diff --git a/man/lvmsystemid.7_main b/man/lvmsystemid.7_main
index 1138e3f0c..c1db4c904 100644
--- a/man/lvmsystemid.7_main
+++ b/man/lvmsystemid.7_main
@@ -5,11 +5,12 @@ lvmsystemid \(em LVM system ID
 
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 
-The LVM system ID restricts VG access to one host.  This is useful when a
-VG is placed on shared storage devices, or when local devices are visible
-to both host and guest operating systems.  In cases like these, a VG can
-be visible to multiple hosts at once, and some mechanism is needed to
-protect it from being used by more than one host at a time.
+The \fBlvm\fP(8) system ID restricts VG access to one host.  This is
+useful when a VG is placed on shared storage devices, or when local
+devices are visible to both host and guest operating systems.  In cases
+like these, a VG can be visible to multiple hosts at once, and some
+mechanism is needed to protect it from being used by more than one host at
+a time.
 
 A VG's system ID identifies one host as the VG owner.  The host with a
 matching system ID can use the VG and its LVs, while LVM on other hosts