Anytimes

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. At whatever moment one happens to choose, without any fixed or set time being required
2. On any occasion at all, regardless of when it takes place or what the hour happens to be
3. Whenever a person wishes, at any point in time the situation calls for, without restriction

Etymology: "Anytimes" is an adverb formed by adding the genitive-style "-s" to "anytime," and that "-s" is the whole story. English "anytime" dates to the late 1500s, but "anytimes" in the sense of "at any time, whenever one likes" is an older, more fluid pattern: many adverbs in English once took an "-s" ending to mark time or place, as in "sometimes," "besides," "afterwards," and "always" (from "alle wei," "all way"). Dictionaries record "anytimes" with this meaning from the 1600s onward, though it has always been far less common than "anytime." The word is essentially a compound, "any" plus "time," with the adverbial "-s" added to match the pattern of "sometimes" and "nowadays." It is a plain, transparent formation with no dramatic shift in meaning, and its sense has stayed close to the original: whenever one chooses. Its rarity today mostly reflects how standard English settled on "anytime" as the usual form.