OT: understanding strange technical terms

[Micko]

Hello people,
I'm reading one technical article about PLL and I have found this:
In this second part, we will focus on a detailed examination of two
critical specifications associated with PLLs: phase noise and reference
spurs.
I don't know what reference spurs means? I can conclude from the rest of the text that spurs can be spikes or deviance in reference signal.
Are there other more appropriate terms?
I know that "spurs" are something that cowboys wear, but never saw that technical term.
Can you suggest synonims?
Thanks

 

[waht]

A spur in an undesired signal that appears in your circuit. It can be internally generated or come from outside. Obviously if the spur is strong enough it may interfere with your circuit so much rendering it ineffective.

You can read more about reference spurs in particular here:

http://www.national.com/nationaledge/feb01/286.html

 

[chroot]

In general, the term "spur" refers to spikes in the frequency domain, i.e. undesired noise components of specific frequencies.

- Warren