uita

Where it comes from

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *oblītāre (“forget”), a frequentative based on Latin oblīvīscor (via its past participle oblītus). Compare Aromanian ultari.

The second sense of "to look at", used reflexively, may have arisen through its use in an expression "a se uita pe sine", to forget oneself, by extension to remain still, and finally to look (compare semantic evolution of Spanish fijarse as a possible parallel). Alternative theories for the second sense include separate etymologies such as a Latin tuitō or a hypothetical root *obitō, derived from an expression obeō oculīs, but both are uncertain and improbable.