This is the 13694th most frequent Swedish word.
vinkades
"Vinkades" means "was waved" or "were waved" in English, referring to a past tense action of waving.
The word "vinkades" is used in a passive form here to describe the act of waving goodbye.
Han vinkades farväl av sina vänner.
He was waved goodbye to by his friends.
Here, "vinkades" expresses a passive action where the subject (mailman) is the recipient of the gesture (being waved forward).
Brevbäraren vinkades fram av en förbipasserande.
The mailman was waved forward by a passerby.
In this sentence, "vinkades" indicates the conveyance of a command or signal through waving, received by the car driver.