Full Idea
The oldest version of the externalist theory of meaning is the Fido/Fido theory, according to which the meaning of a representation is the object for which it stands.
Gist of Idea
Simple externalism is that the meaning just is the object
Source
Georges Rey (Contemporary Philosophy of Mind [1997], 9.2)
Book Reference
Rey,Georges: 'Contemporary Philosophy of Mind' [Blackwell 1997], p.241
A Reaction
Modern baptismal theories of reference seem to have taken us back to this, for distinct individuals such as Aristotle, or natural kinds like gold. What, though, does 'Fido' mean to me? Asthma!