Nothing. And that’s the point. NBC Universal and News Corp. joined the legions of meaning-deprived dot-com company names on Wednesday, dubbing its ambitious “YouTube Killer” online video joint venture “Hulu.”

“We just wanted a name that is short and easy to spell. We like the idea that it rhymes with itself. We wanted a fun name. It captures the spirit of what the team and the service is like,” Hulu spokeswoman Christina Lee tells us. “It doesn’t have a definition in the dictionary.”

The LA Times explains the phenomenon that afflicts new startups aiming to separate themselves from the pack, but ending up with names that sound like baby noises:

New Internet companies are being baptized daily with handles that sound like a cross between toddler-speak, scat singing and what the aliens will greet us with when they land … One approach is whimsy: picking a name that seems inspired by Dr. Seuss. If the late author were to tell a story about Internet start-ups, he could pit Qumana and Qoosa (blog editing and Web browsing) against Tagtooga and Tendango (both social networking). Peace would be brokered by Ooma (Internet phone calling). BooRah (restaurant reviews) would hiss, then cheer. Lala (music sharing) would sing.

Hulu doesn’t quite accomplish this; it’s actually Chinese for the gourd we know as the calabash.

It also is the name of a Swedish company that provides WiMax equipment.

Then there’s the Hulu Cafe, and the Hulu Project from two men whose music they describe as “a radical mix of electronica, crossculture, avant pop and contemporary music.”