line of descent vs descent

line of descent and descent both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
line of descent	Yes	No	No	No
descent	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, line of descent and descent are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of line of descent include ancestry, blood, blood line, bloodline, line, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigree, stemma, stock.

As nouns, line of descent and descent are synonyms defined as:

line of descent and descent: the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors

Other synonyms of line of descent include filiation, lineage.

line of descent (noun)	descent (noun)
the hereditary derivation of an individual	the act of changing your location in a downward direction
the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors	properties attributable to your ancestry
	a movement downward
	the hereditary derivation of an individual
	a downward slope or bend
	the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors