diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 295e646d..47d5784b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -746,8 +746,11 @@ dnl ============================================================================
 dnl Configure pthreads.
 
 AC_CHECK_HEADERS([pthread.h], , [AC_MSG_ERROR([pthread.h is missing])])
+dnl Some systems may embed pthreads functionality in libc; check for libpthread
+dnl first, but try libc too before failing.
 AC_CHECK_LIB([pthread], [pthread_create], [LIBS="$LIBS -lpthread"],
-             [AC_MSG_ERROR([libpthread is missing])])
+             [AC_SEARCH_LIBS([pthread_create], , ,
+                             AC_MSG_ERROR([libpthread is missing]))])
 
 CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS -D_REENTRANT"