direct descendant / offspring

Question

He's a direct descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte.Does direct descendant mean offspring?

Likeguslee · Accepted Answer

Yes, it does.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Well, it usually means several generations removed. A great-great-great (etc.) grandfather.

I think of "offspring" as your own children.

Likeguslee · Answer

offspring noun plural offspring

1.The progeny or descendants of a person, an animal, or a plant considered as a group.

2.A child of particular parentage.

3.A result; a product.

[Middle English ofspring, from Old English : of, off. See off + springan, to rise.]

Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

I used to think of “offspring” as having one meaning => child, children. A descendant is far removed from a parent, and so in one sense of offspring, a descendant is not an offspring.

Teo · Answer

Grammar Geek Well, it usually means several generations removed. A great-great-great (etc.) grandfather.

If direct descendant usually means several generations removed, what's the difference between direct descendant and descendant?

Teo · Answer

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?p=284197#284197

No difference really: 'direct' is added just for emphasis.

direct descendant / offspring

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