Probably identical with 'iy (through the idea of a doleful sound); a howler (used only in the plural), i.e. Any solitary wild creature; --wild beast of the islands.
see HEBREW 'iy
H338. i
II. [אִי] noun masculine jackal (howler, for *אָוִי see BaNB 188, compare Arabic , whence ) — plural אִיִּים, Isaiah 13:22; 34:14; Jeremiah 50:39 (inhabitant of desert, ruin).