The referent is the object, situation, or event to which a symbol and/or sign refers.  Its purpose is to communicate the relationship between the text and the larger reality (Beck et al., 2005). 

The Meaning Triangle

In 1946, Ogden and Richards developed the "meaning triangle," a diagram that shows the relationship between symbols, referents, and meanings.  These three principles constitute a system so that, within a specific language community, each pair of elements is linked by a particular convention.  The symbol is a word, object, or behavior that arouses meaning.  The referent is the object or situation to which meaning is assigned.  Finally, the meaning is the schema of traces subjectively aroused (Defleur et al., 2005).