A direct descendant is a child or grandchild of a person.

Think of it this way. My direct ancestor was the Uncle of Ann Bolynn. So - I am his direct descendant but not directly descended from the bold Ann, although I am descended from the same family tree as she was....and she was really a Boland before she started running with the fast crowd! ; )

Direct descendants are in a direct line from mother or father to children. Indirect descendants are the branches of the tree that include aunts, uncles, and cousins. All may be descendants of one person but they aren't all directly descended. Think of it this way, you can only pass on genetic traits to your direct descendants. You can give your eye color to your children but not to your sister's children. Your children descend directly from you but your sister's children don't.

It's an alliterative phrase with 'direct' being an intensifier, not a modifier.

It implies a patronymic line of men having the same name. The word 'direct' is not used to trace the genealogy through a female ancestor.

This phrase has always bothered me. The word "direct" is clearly redundant. You either are descended (meaning that you can trace a link through parentage) or you are not. I suppose that you could make a case that if you can make a link through non-blood relatives, or through adoption, then that would be an indirect descendant. However the use of the word "descendant" in that case is incorrect. Thus, I have decided that all descendant are "direct". It is interesting that modern gentics studies have consistently found that 5% of the time, an individuals biological father is not who they think it is (i.e. their mother became pregnant through another encounter). This is very consistent across cultures. This would obviously play havoc with "direct descendency" that spans many generations.

1) "- Direct Descendant: a biological descendant of a person. - Indirect Descendant: a blood relation, but not a biological descendant of a person. Used by some people because it sounds better than "third cousin, twice removed" or similar relationships." Source and further information: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-164993.html 2) "descended from a common ancestor but through different lines; "cousins are collateral relatives"; "an indirect descendant of the Stuarts" [syn: collateral] [ant: lineal]" Source and further information: http://dictionary.die.net/indirect 3) "the four descents are 1."collateral" (indirect, meaning pretty much any provable blood relative from the past, this is the biggest category and the most confused/exaggerated), 2."direct" or "lineal" (meaning any male or female who was your great-great-great-etc. grandparent, 3."in the direct male line" or "patrilineal" (meaning the Y chromosome descent only, your father's father's father's father's father etc.). 4."matrilineal", meaning your mother' mother's mother's mother etc. only." Source and further information: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1325231 4) "Most of the time, descendant is the proper term. But when you want to distinguish between a lineal descendant and a relative, you can use the terms direct descendant and indirect descendant. A direct descendant is the offspring of parents, grandparents, and so on, ad infinitum. An indirect descendant is the offspring of the brother or sister of your parent, grandparent, etc. For example, you are a direct descendant of your mother, while your cousins are her indirect descendants. But you and all of your cousins are direct descendants of your common grandmother." Source and further information: http://zigzackly.blogspot.com/2006/07/direct-descendant.html