referent
noun [ C ] language specialized uk/ˈref.ər.ənt/ us/ˈref.ər.ənt/
（语词的）所指事物，所指对象
the person, thing, or idea that a word, phrase, or object refers to
The obvious textual referent in this movie is Shakespeare's "Hamlet". 这部电影在文本上明显所指的是莎士比亚的《哈姆雷特》。