Everyone knows what Fred meant, but I thought I'd make it official... ;-)

Doc/templates/whatsnewXY.tex

@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
 % The following replacements need to be made in the text:
 %
 % X.Y   -- the version of Python this document describes
-% X.Y-1 -- previous major release (not a maintenance release)
-% X.Y-2 -- major release before that one (optional; search the
+% X.Y-1 -- previous minor release (not a maintenance release)
+% X.Y-2 -- minor release before that one (optional; search the
 %          template to see the usage
 %
 % Once done, write and edit to your heart's content!