<listitem>
<para>When used with
<command>enable</command>/<command>disable</command>/<command>is-enabled</command>
- (and related commands), use an alternate root path when
- looking for unit files.</para>
+ (and related commands), use the specified root path when looking for unit
+ files. If this option is present, <command>systemctl</command> will operate on
+ the file system directly, instead of communicating with the <command>systemd</command>
+ daemon to carry out changes.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>