History: What is distortion?

What is distortion?

• Distortion is a sound effect that adds phasing to a sound source.
  Adds noise, not phasing.
• Distortion is a sound effect that removes phasing from a sound source.
  Nope.
• Distortion is a sound effect that removes noise from a sound source.
  Adds, not removes.
• Distortion is a sound effect that adds noise to a sound source.
  Excellent!