diff --git a/Documentation/git-am.txt b/Documentation/git-am.txt
index 9e62f8778f..51297d09ec 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-am.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-am.txt
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 	 [--ignore-date] [--ignore-space-change | --ignore-whitespace]
 	 [--whitespace=<option>] [-C<n>] [-p<n>] [--directory=<dir>]
 	 [--reject] [-q | --quiet] [--scissors | --no-scissors]
-	 [<mbox> | <Maildir>...]
+	 [(<mbox> | <Maildir>)...]
 'git am' (--continue | --skip | --abort)
 
 DESCRIPTION
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ current branch.
 
 OPTIONS
 -------
-<mbox>|<Maildir>...::
+(<mbox>|<Maildir>)...::
 	The list of mailbox files to read patches from. If you do not
 	supply this argument, the command reads from the standard input.
 	If you supply directories, they will be treated as Maildirs.
diff --git a/Documentation/git-apply.txt b/Documentation/git-apply.txt
index 08bf6e7fb7..881652f490 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-apply.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-apply.txt
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 	  [--allow-binary-replacement | --binary] [--reject] [-z]
 	  [-p<n>] [-C<n>] [--inaccurate-eof] [--recount] [--cached]
 	  [--ignore-space-change | --ignore-whitespace ]
-	  [--whitespace=<nowarn|warn|fix|error|error-all>]
+	  [--whitespace=(nowarn|warn|fix|error|error-all)]
 	  [--exclude=<path>] [--include=<path>] [--directory=<root>]
 	  [--verbose] [<patch>...]
 
diff --git a/Documentation/git-checkout-index.txt b/Documentation/git-checkout-index.txt
index 62f9ab24c9..0c0a9c14bc 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-checkout-index.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-checkout-index.txt
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 		   [--stage=<number>|all]
 		   [--temp]
 		   [-z] [--stdin]
-		   [--] [<file>]*
+		   [--] [<file>...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-commit-tree.txt b/Documentation/git-commit-tree.txt
index 349366ee1e..5dcf4278fc 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-commit-tree.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-commit-tree.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ git-commit-tree - Create a new commit object
 
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
-'git commit-tree' <tree> [-p <parent commit>]* < changelog
+'git commit-tree' <tree> [(-p <parent commit>)...] < changelog
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-fetch.txt b/Documentation/git-fetch.txt
index 400fe7f956..d159e88292 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-fetch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-fetch.txt
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 
 'git fetch' [<options>] <group>
 
-'git fetch' --multiple [<options>] [<repository> | <group>]...
+'git fetch' --multiple [<options>] [(<repository> | <group>)...]
 
 'git fetch' --all [<options>]
 
diff --git a/Documentation/git-filter-branch.txt b/Documentation/git-filter-branch.txt
index f51860de26..796e7489ff 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-filter-branch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-filter-branch.txt
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ OPTIONS
 	This is the filter for performing the commit.
 	If this filter is specified, it will be called instead of the
 	'git commit-tree' command, with arguments of the form
-	"<TREE_ID> [-p <PARENT_COMMIT_ID>]..." and the log message on
+	"<TREE_ID> [(-p <PARENT_COMMIT_ID>)...]" and the log message on
 	stdin.  The commit id is expected on stdout.
 +
 As a special extension, the commit filter may emit multiple
diff --git a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
index d66fd9d231..fac1cf55e5 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-for-each-ref.txt
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 --------
 [verse]
 'git for-each-ref' [--count=<count>] [--shell|--perl|--python|--tcl]
-		   [--sort=<key>]* [--format=<format>] [<pattern>...]
+		   [(--sort=<key>)...] [--format=<format>] [<pattern>...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-init.txt b/Documentation/git-init.txt
index 246b07ebf9..00d4a124c9 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-init.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-init.txt
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ current working directory.
 Specify the directory from which templates will be used.  (See the "TEMPLATE
 DIRECTORY" section below.)
 
---shared[={false|true|umask|group|all|world|everybody|0xxx}]::
+--shared[=(false|true|umask|group|all|world|everybody|0xxx)]::
 
 Specify that the git repository is to be shared amongst several users.  This
 allows users belonging to the same group to push into that
diff --git a/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt b/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt
index 347f447986..86abd13451 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-ls-files.txt
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 		[--exclude-per-directory=<file>]
 		[--exclude-standard]
 		[--error-unmatch] [--with-tree=<tree-ish>]
-		[--full-name] [--abbrev] [--] [<file>]*
+		[--full-name] [--abbrev] [--] [<file>...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-mailsplit.txt b/Documentation/git-mailsplit.txt
index a634485281..71912a19a4 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-mailsplit.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-mailsplit.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ git-mailsplit - Simple UNIX mbox splitter program
 
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
-'git mailsplit' [-b] [-f<nn>] [-d<prec>] [--keep-cr] -o<directory> [--] [<mbox>|<Maildir>...]
+'git mailsplit' [-b] [-f<nn>] [-d<prec>] [--keep-cr] -o<directory> [--] [(<mbox>|<Maildir>)...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-mergetool.txt b/Documentation/git-mergetool.txt
index e4ed016146..1f75a848ba 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-mergetool.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-mergetool.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ git-mergetool - Run merge conflict resolution tools to resolve merge conflicts
 
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
-'git mergetool' [--tool=<tool>] [-y|--no-prompt|--prompt] [<file>]...
+'git mergetool' [--tool=<tool>] [-y|--no-prompt|--prompt] [<file>...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-pack-objects.txt b/Documentation/git-pack-objects.txt
index a1dd3e9d96..65eff66afe 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-pack-objects.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-pack-objects.txt
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 'git pack-objects' [-q | --progress | --all-progress] [--all-progress-implied]
 	[--no-reuse-delta] [--delta-base-offset] [--non-empty]
 	[--local] [--incremental] [--window=<n>] [--depth=<n>]
-	[--revs [--unpacked | --all]*] [--stdout | base-name]
+	[--revs [--unpacked | --all]] [--stdout | base-name]
 	[--keep-true-parents] < object-list
 
 
diff --git a/Documentation/git-relink.txt b/Documentation/git-relink.txt
index 8a5842bb93..8fc809f82b 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-relink.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-relink.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ git-relink - Hardlink common objects in local repositories
 
 SYNOPSIS
 --------
-'git relink' [--safe] <dir> [<dir>]* <master_dir>
+'git relink' [--safe] <dir>... <master_dir>
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-remote.txt b/Documentation/git-remote.txt
index b317086893..0d28febe1b 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-remote.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-remote.txt
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 'git remote set-url --delete' [--push] <name> <url>
 'git remote' [-v | --verbose] 'show' [-n] <name>
 'git remote prune' [-n | --dry-run] <name>
-'git remote' [-v | --verbose] 'update' [-p | --prune] [<group> | <remote>]...
+'git remote' [-v | --verbose] 'update' [-p | --prune] [(<group> | <remote>)...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt b/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
index cfb1d2122a..8e1e32908c 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rev-list.txt
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 	     [ \--regexp-ignore-case | -i ]
 	     [ \--extended-regexp | -E ]
 	     [ \--fixed-strings | -F ]
-	     [ \--date={local|relative|default|iso|rfc|short} ]
+	     [ \--date=(local|relative|default|iso|rfc|short) ]
 	     [ [\--objects | \--objects-edge] [ \--unpacked ] ]
 	     [ \--pretty | \--header ]
 	     [ \--bisect ]
diff --git a/Documentation/git-rev-parse.txt b/Documentation/git-rev-parse.txt
index 341ca90c6e..4a27643c1e 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rev-parse.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rev-parse.txt
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ OPTIONS
 	unfortunately named tag "master"), and show them as full
 	refnames (e.g. "refs/heads/master").
 
---abbrev-ref[={strict|loose}]::
+--abbrev-ref[=(strict|loose)]::
 	A non-ambiguous short name of the objects name.
 	The option core.warnAmbiguousRefs is used to select the strict
 	abbreviation mode.
diff --git a/Documentation/git-show-branch.txt b/Documentation/git-show-branch.txt
index 6453263340..bd9f886f97 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-show-branch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-show-branch.txt
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 		[--current] [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [--sparse]
 		[--more=<n> | --list | --independent | --merge-base]
 		[--no-name | --sha1-name] [--topics]
-		[<rev> | <glob>]...
+		[(<rev> | <glob>)...]
 
 'git show-branch' (-g|--reflog)[=<n>[,<base>]] [--list] [<ref>]
 
diff --git a/Documentation/git-svn.txt b/Documentation/git-svn.txt
index be8a51fd06..139d314ba5 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-svn.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-svn.txt
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ git rebase --onto remotes/git-svn A^ master
 OPTIONS
 -------
 
---shared[={false|true|umask|group|all|world|everybody}]::
+--shared[=(false|true|umask|group|all|world|everybody)]::
 --template=<template_directory>::
 	Only used with the 'init' command.
 	These are passed directly to 'git init'.
diff --git a/Documentation/git-update-index.txt b/Documentation/git-update-index.txt
index 74d1d49dbf..a5782a6d14 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-update-index.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-update-index.txt
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 'git update-index'
 	     [--add] [--remove | --force-remove] [--replace]
 	     [--refresh] [-q] [--unmerged] [--ignore-missing]
-	     [--cacheinfo <mode> <object> <file>]*
+	     [(--cacheinfo <mode> <object> <file>)...]
 	     [--chmod=(+|-)x]
 	     [--assume-unchanged | --no-assume-unchanged]
 	     [--skip-worktree | --no-skip-worktree]
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
 	     [--info-only] [--index-info]
 	     [-z] [--stdin]
 	     [--verbose]
-	     [--] [<file>]*
+	     [--] [<file>...]
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
diff --git a/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt b/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt
index 1b13c1f909..7a42567060 100644
--- a/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt
+++ b/Documentation/rev-list-options.txt
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ include::pretty-options.txt[]
 
 	Synonym for `--date=relative`.
 
---date={relative,local,default,iso,rfc,short,raw}::
+--date=(relative|local|default|iso|rfc|short|raw)::
 
 	Only takes effect for dates shown in human-readable format, such
 	as when using "--pretty". `log.date` config variable sets a default
diff --git a/Documentation/user-manual.txt b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
index ce45bfcc04..cb3b98a18c 100644
--- a/Documentation/user-manual.txt
+++ b/Documentation/user-manual.txt
@@ -3850,7 +3850,7 @@ You create a commit object by giving it the tree that describes the
 state at the time of the commit, and a list of parents:
 
 -------------------------------------------------
-$ git commit-tree <tree> -p <parent> [-p <parent2> ..]
+$ git commit-tree <tree> -p <parent> [(-p <parent2>)...]
 -------------------------------------------------
 
 and then giving the reason for the commit on stdin (either through
diff --git a/builtin/commit-tree.c b/builtin/commit-tree.c
index 87f0591c2f..e06573920f 100644
--- a/builtin/commit-tree.c
+++ b/builtin/commit-tree.c
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include "builtin.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
 
-static const char commit_tree_usage[] = "git commit-tree <sha1> [-p <sha1>]* < changelog";
+static const char commit_tree_usage[] = "git commit-tree <sha1> [(-p <sha1>)...] < changelog";
 
 static void new_parent(struct commit *parent, struct commit_list **parents_p)
 {
diff --git a/builtin/fetch.c b/builtin/fetch.c
index 6fc5047703..d35f000c03 100644
--- a/builtin/fetch.c
+++ b/builtin/fetch.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 static const char * const builtin_fetch_usage[] = {
 	"git fetch [<options>] [<repository> [<refspec>...]]",
 	"git fetch [<options>] <group>",
-	"git fetch --multiple [<options>] [<repository> | <group>]...",
+	"git fetch --multiple [<options>] [(<repository> | <group>)...]",
 	"git fetch --all [<options>]",
 	NULL
 };
diff --git a/builtin/index-pack.c b/builtin/index-pack.c
index e243d9d22e..8dc5c0b541 100644
--- a/builtin/index-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/index-pack.c
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 #include "exec_cmd.h"
 
 static const char index_pack_usage[] =
-"git index-pack [-v] [-o <index-file>] [{ --keep | --keep=<msg> }] [--strict] { <pack-file> | --stdin [--fix-thin] [<pack-file>] }";
+"git index-pack [-v] [-o <index-file>] [ --keep | --keep=<msg> ] [--strict] (<pack-file> | --stdin [--fix-thin] [<pack-file>])";
 
 struct object_entry
 {
diff --git a/builtin/ls-files.c b/builtin/ls-files.c
index bb4f612b3d..6a307ab784 100644
--- a/builtin/ls-files.c
+++ b/builtin/ls-files.c
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ int report_path_error(const char *ps_matched, const char **pathspec, int prefix_
 }
 
 static const char * const ls_files_usage[] = {
-	"git ls-files [options] [<file>]*",
+	"git ls-files [options] [<file>...]",
 	NULL
 };
 
diff --git a/builtin/mailsplit.c b/builtin/mailsplit.c
index 99654d0222..2d4327801e 100644
--- a/builtin/mailsplit.c
+++ b/builtin/mailsplit.c
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 #include "strbuf.h"
 
 static const char git_mailsplit_usage[] =
-"git mailsplit [-d<prec>] [-f<n>] [-b] [--keep-cr] -o<directory> [<mbox>|<Maildir>...]";
+"git mailsplit [-d<prec>] [-f<n>] [-b] [--keep-cr] -o<directory> [(<mbox>|<Maildir>)...]";
 
 static int is_from_line(const char *line, int len)
 {
diff --git a/builtin/pack-objects.c b/builtin/pack-objects.c
index 1e4c386048..26f23041f1 100644
--- a/builtin/pack-objects.c
+++ b/builtin/pack-objects.c
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 #endif
 
 static const char pack_usage[] =
-  "git pack-objects [{ -q | --progress | --all-progress }]\n"
+  "git pack-objects [ -q | --progress | --all-progress ]\n"
   "        [--all-progress-implied]\n"
   "        [--max-pack-size=<n>] [--local] [--incremental]\n"
   "        [--window=<n>] [--window-memory=<n>] [--depth=<n>]\n"
diff --git a/builtin/remote.c b/builtin/remote.c
index c0198fc7b6..e9a6e09257 100644
--- a/builtin/remote.c
+++ b/builtin/remote.c
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ static const char * const builtin_remote_usage[] = {
 	"git remote set-head <name> (-a | -d | <branch>)",
 	"git remote [-v | --verbose] show [-n] <name>",
 	"git remote prune [-n | --dry-run] <name>",
-	"git remote [-v | --verbose] update [-p | --prune] [<group> | <remote>]",
+	"git remote [-v | --verbose] update [-p | --prune] [(<group> | <remote>)...]",
 	"git remote set-branches <name> [--add] <branch>...",
 	"git remote set-url <name> <newurl> [<oldurl>]",
 	"git remote set-url --add <name> <newurl>",
diff --git a/builtin/show-branch.c b/builtin/show-branch.c
index e8719aa9e9..8663ccaa99 100644
--- a/builtin/show-branch.c
+++ b/builtin/show-branch.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #include "parse-options.h"
 
 static const char* show_branch_usage[] = {
-    "git show-branch [-a|--all] [-r|--remotes] [--topo-order | --date-order] [--current] [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [--sparse] [--more=<n> | --list | --independent | --merge-base] [--no-name | --sha1-name] [--topics] [<rev> | <glob>]...",
+    "git show-branch [-a|--all] [-r|--remotes] [--topo-order | --date-order] [--current] [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [--sparse] [--more=<n> | --list | --independent | --merge-base] [--no-name | --sha1-name] [--topics] [(<rev> | <glob>)...]",
     "git show-branch (-g|--reflog)[=<n>[,<base>]] [--list] [<ref>]",
     NULL
 };
diff --git a/git-am.sh b/git-am.sh
index e7f008c7ba..6184101c2b 100755
--- a/git-am.sh
+++ b/git-am.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 SUBDIRECTORY_OK=Yes
 OPTIONS_KEEPDASHDASH=
 OPTIONS_SPEC="\
-git am [options] [<mbox>|<Maildir>...]
+git am [options] [(<mbox>|<Maildir>)...]
 git am [options] (--resolved | --skip | --abort)
 --
 i,interactive   run interactively
diff --git a/git-relink.perl b/git-relink.perl
index 937c69a748..c2a0ef8d5a 100755
--- a/git-relink.perl
+++ b/git-relink.perl
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ sub link_two_files($$) {
 
 
 sub usage() {
-	print("Usage: git relink [--safe] <dir> [<dir> ...] <master_dir> \n");
+	print("Usage: git relink [--safe] <dir>... <master_dir> \n");
 	print("All directories should contain a .git/objects/ subdirectory.\n");
 	print("Options\n");
 	print("\t--safe\t" .