diff --git a/base/deprecated.jl b/base/deprecated.jl
index 19aa8f977ee30..8b271a2543e45 100644
--- a/base/deprecated.jl
+++ b/base/deprecated.jl
@@ -469,3 +469,4 @@ end
 scale!{T<:Base.LinAlg.BlasReal}(X::Array{T}, s::Complex) = error("scale!: Cannot scale a real array by a complex value in-place.  Use scale(X::Array{Real}, s::Complex) instead.")
 
 @deprecate which(f::Callable, args...) @which f(args...)
+@deprecate rmdir rm
diff --git a/base/exports.jl b/base/exports.jl
index 700623c0ca41d..07a3c26e37fcd 100644
--- a/base/exports.jl
+++ b/base/exports.jl
@@ -1238,7 +1238,6 @@ export
     isfifo,
     isfile,
     islink,
-    isfileorlink,
     ispath,
     isreadable,
     issetgid,
@@ -1256,7 +1255,6 @@ export
     operm,
     pwd,
     rm,
-    rmdir,
     stat,
     symlink,
     tempdir,
diff --git a/base/file.jl b/base/file.jl
index d5fb78c0fbadf..25d2188e08b01 100644
--- a/base/file.jl
+++ b/base/file.jl
@@ -51,22 +51,24 @@ end
 mkdir(path::String, mode::Signed) = error("mode must be an unsigned integer; try 0o$mode")
 mkpath(path::String, mode::Signed) = error("mode must be an unsigned integer; try 0o$mode")
 
-function rmdir(path::String, recursive::Bool=false)
-    if recursive
-        for p=readdir(path)
-            p = joinpath(path, p)
-            isfileorlink(p) ? rm(p) : rmdir(p, true)
+function rm(path::String; recursive::Bool=false)
+    if islink(path) || !isdir(path)
+        FS.unlink(path)
+    else
+        if recursive
+            for p in readdir(path)
+                rm(joinpath(path, p), recursive=true)
+            end
         end
+        @unix_only ret = ccall(:rmdir, Int32, (Ptr{Uint8},), bytestring(path))
+        @windows_only ret = ccall(:_wrmdir, Int32, (Ptr{Uint16},), utf16(path))
+        systemerror(:rmdir, ret != 0)
     end
-    @unix_only ret = ccall(:rmdir, Int32, (Ptr{Uint8},), bytestring(path))
-    @windows_only ret = ccall(:_wrmdir, Int32, (Ptr{Uint16},), utf16(path))
-    systemerror(:rmdir, ret != 0)
 end
 
 
 # The following use Unix command line facilites
 
-rm(path::String) = FS.unlink(path)
 cp(src::String, dst::String) = FS.sendfile(src, dst)
 mv(src::String, dst::String) = FS.rename(src, dst)
 touch(path::String) = run(`touch $path`)
diff --git a/base/pkg/cache.jl b/base/pkg/cache.jl
index f77df9c16c8ce..b0d7bc4d4e9c1 100644
--- a/base/pkg/cache.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/cache.jl
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ function prefetch{S<:String}(pkg::String, url::String, sha1s::Vector{S})
         info("Cloning cache of $pkg from $url")
         try Git.run(`clone -q --mirror $url $cache`)
         catch
-            rmdir(cache, true)
+            rm(cache, recursive=true)
             rethrow()
         end
     end
diff --git a/base/pkg/dir.jl b/base/pkg/dir.jl
index 869e9c553fce0..722357b11af4a 100644
--- a/base/pkg/dir.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/dir.jl
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ function init(meta::String=DEFAULT_META, branch::String=META_BRANCH)
             run(`touch REQUIRE`)
         end
     catch e
-        rmdir(dir, true)
+        rm(dir, recursive=true)
         rethrow(e)
     end
 end
diff --git a/base/pkg/entry.jl b/base/pkg/entry.jl
index 509988c995a78..0e64bd90fe1d5 100644
--- a/base/pkg/entry.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/entry.jl
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ function clone(url::String, pkg::String)
         Git.run(`clone -q $url $pkg`)
         Git.set_remote_url(url, dir=pkg)
     catch
-        rmdir(pkg, true)
+        rm(pkg, recursive=true)
         rethrow()
     end
     isempty(Reqs.parse("$pkg/REQUIRE")) && return
diff --git a/base/pkg/generate.jl b/base/pkg/generate.jl
index 7e70a37ad3ec2..e77ddd671a441 100644
--- a/base/pkg/generate.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/generate.jl
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ function package(
             end
         end
     catch
-        isnew && rmdir(pkg, true)
+        isnew && rm(pkg, recursive=true)
         rethrow()
     end
 end
diff --git a/base/pkg/write.jl b/base/pkg/write.jl
index 30f4fd768f07e..7df4cd9c0824e 100644
--- a/base/pkg/write.jl
+++ b/base/pkg/write.jl
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ end
 
 function remove(pkg::String)
     isdir(".trash") || mkdir(".trash")
-    ispath(".trash/$pkg") && rmdir(".trash/$pkg", true)
+    ispath(".trash/$pkg") && rm(".trash/$pkg", recursive=true)
     mv(pkg, ".trash/$pkg")
 end
 
diff --git a/base/stat.jl b/base/stat.jl
index 30129bcefb833..b76e7f28152e9 100644
--- a/base/stat.jl
+++ b/base/stat.jl
@@ -58,15 +58,14 @@ lstat(path...) = lstat(joinpath(path...))
 
 # mode type predicates
 
-      ispath(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 != 0x0000
-      isfifo(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x1000
-   ischardev(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x2000
-       isdir(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x4000
-  isblockdev(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x6000
-      isfile(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x8000
-      islink(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0xa000
-    issocket(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0xc000
-isfileorlink(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xd000 == 0x8000
+    ispath(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 != 0x0000
+    isfifo(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x1000
+ ischardev(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x2000
+     isdir(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x4000
+isblockdev(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x6000
+    isfile(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0x8000
+    islink(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0xa000
+  issocket(st::StatStruct) = st.mode & 0xf000 == 0xc000
 
 # mode permission predicates
 
@@ -74,8 +73,8 @@ issetuid(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o4000) > 0
 issetgid(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o2000) > 0
 issticky(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o1000) > 0
 
-isreadable(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o444) > 0
-iswritable(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o222) > 0
+  isreadable(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o444) > 0
+  iswritable(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o222) > 0
 isexecutable(st::StatStruct) = (st.mode & 0o111) > 0
 
 uperm(st::StatStruct) = uint8(st.mode >> 6) & 0x7
@@ -92,7 +91,6 @@ for f in {
     :isblockdev
     :isfile
     :islink
-    :isfileorlink
     :issocket
     :issetuid
     :issetgid
@@ -108,7 +106,6 @@ for f in {
 end
 
 islink(path...) = islink(lstat(path...))
-isfileorlink(path...) = isfileorlink(lstat(path...))
 
 
 # some convenience functions
diff --git a/doc/stdlib/base.rst b/doc/stdlib/base.rst
index fab6766675df9..d79562a86eabf 100644
--- a/doc/stdlib/base.rst
+++ b/doc/stdlib/base.rst
@@ -1778,9 +1778,10 @@ I/O
 
    Move a file from `src` to `dst`.
 
-.. function:: rm(path::String)
+.. function:: rm(path::String; recursive=false)
 
-   Delete the file at the given path. Note that this does not work on directories.
+   Delete the file, link, or empty directory at the given path. If ``recursive=true`` is
+   passed and the path is a directory, then all contents are removed recursively.
 
 .. function:: touch(path::String)
 
@@ -5152,10 +5153,6 @@ System
    Create all directories in the given ``path``, with permissions ``mode``.
    ``mode`` defaults to 0o777, modified by the current file creation mask.
 
-.. function:: rmdir(path, [recursive=false])
-
-   Remove the directory named ``path``. To remove a non-empty directory you must pass recursive true.
-
 .. function:: getpid() -> Int32
 
    Get julia's process ID.
diff --git a/doc/stdlib/file.rst b/doc/stdlib/file.rst
index 8e6c41ec74c0f..e38620c1f1b3a 100644
--- a/doc/stdlib/file.rst
+++ b/doc/stdlib/file.rst
@@ -33,10 +33,6 @@ Filesystem
 
    Returns ``true`` if ``path`` is a symbolic link, ``false`` otherwise.
 
-.. function:: isfileorlink(path) -> Bool
-
-   Returns ``true`` if ``path`` is a regular file or a symbolic link, ``false`` otherwise.
-
 .. function:: ispath(path) -> Bool
 
    Returns ``true`` if ``path`` is a valid filesystem path, ``false`` otherwise.
diff --git a/test/file.jl b/test/file.jl
index 7fdf3b80654b0..dda8415153e8b 100644
--- a/test/file.jl
+++ b/test/file.jl
@@ -23,11 +23,9 @@ end
 @test isdir(dir)
 @test !isfile(dir)
 @test !islink(dir)
-@test !isfileorlink(dir)
 @test !isdir(file)
 @test isfile(file)
 @test !islink(file)
-@test isfileorlink(file)
 @test isreadable(file)
 @test iswritable(file)
 # Here's something else that might be UNIX-specific?
@@ -54,7 +52,6 @@ newfile = joinpath(dir, "bfile.txt")
 mv(file, newfile)
 @test !ispath(file)
 @test isfile(newfile)
-@test isfileorlink(newfile)
 file = newfile
 
 # Test renaming directories
@@ -73,9 +70,9 @@ mv(a_tmpdir, b_tmpdir)
 b_stat = stat(b_tmpdir)
 @test Base.samefile(a_stat, b_stat)
 
-rmdir(b_tmpdir)
+rm(b_tmpdir)
 
-# rmdir recursive TODO add links
+# rm recursive TODO add links
 c_tmpdir = mktempdir()
 c_subdir = joinpath(c_tmpdir, "c_subdir")
 mkdir(c_subdir)
@@ -84,9 +81,9 @@ cp(newfile, c_file)
 
 @test isdir(c_subdir)
 @test isfile(c_file)
-@test_throws rmdir(c_tmpdir)
+@test_throws SystemError rm(c_tmpdir)
 
-rmdir(c_tmpdir, true)
+rm(c_tmpdir, recursive=true)
 @test !isdir(c_tmpdir)
 
 
@@ -298,8 +295,8 @@ close(f)
 @non_windowsxp_only rm(dirlink)
 
 rm(file)
-rmdir(subdir)
-rmdir(dir)
+rm(subdir)
+rm(dir)
 
 @test !ispath(file)
 @test !ispath(dir)
diff --git a/test/git.jl b/test/git.jl
index 8a6dfa3339625..218c96eb9a998 100644
--- a/test/git.jl
+++ b/test/git.jl
@@ -30,4 +30,4 @@ try cd(dir) do
     end
     git_verify(states[1:3]...)
 
-end finally rmdir(dir, true) end
+end finally rm(dir, recursive=true) end
diff --git a/test/gitutils.jl b/test/gitutils.jl
index a7dd36e7c72e7..1c6655905bb9b 100644
--- a/test/gitutils.jl
+++ b/test/gitutils.jl
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ function git_setup(h::Dict, i::Dict, w::Dict, parents::String...)
     # clear the repo
     for line in eachline(`ls -A`)
         name = chomp(line)
-        name == ".git" || rmdir(name, true)
+        name == ".git" || rm(name, recursive=true)
     end
 
     # create the head commit
diff --git a/test/pkg.jl b/test/pkg.jl
index e4627f1d64400..feeacd252cc0c 100644
--- a/test/pkg.jl
+++ b/test/pkg.jl
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ function temp_pkg_dir(fn::Function)
 
     fn()
   finally
-    rmdir(tmpdir, true)
+    rm(tmpdir, recursive=true)
   end
 end
 
diff --git a/test/replcompletions.jl b/test/replcompletions.jl
index 41e53d073e121..34a866fb0f018 100644
--- a/test/replcompletions.jl
+++ b/test/replcompletions.jl
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ c,r = test_latexcomplete(s)
 #    @test "CompletionFoo2" in c
 #    @test s[r] == "Completion"
 #
-#    rmdir(Pkg.dir("MyAwesomePackage"))
-#    rmdir(Pkg.dir("CompletionFooPackage"))
+#    rm(Pkg.dir("MyAwesomePackage"))
+#    rm(Pkg.dir("CompletionFooPackage"))
 #end
 
 @unix_only begin
diff --git a/test/unicode.jl b/test/unicode.jl
index cee22748366c3..7a9bf6fbc04dd 100644
--- a/test/unicode.jl
+++ b/test/unicode.jl
@@ -89,5 +89,5 @@ else
     for encoding in ["UTF-32BE", "UTF-32LE", "UTF-16BE", "UTF-16LE", "UTF-8"]
         rm(joinpath(unicodedir,encoding*".unicode"))
     end
-    rmdir(unicodedir)
+    rm(unicodedir)
 end