I was reading this book that features a description of a shark:
It had fins at its sides, a triangular fin that rose from its back, a raked, aerodynamic tail, and eyes that were small, black, and empty.
(Emphasis mine.)
Now, since "aero-" means "air", and this tail travels through water rather than air > 99% of the time, it strikes me that aerodynamic may not be the best way to describe it?
Another example:
The submarine was beautifully built, with a smooth, aerodynamic design.
Hydrodynamic is the right word. The notions of hydrodynamics and aerodynamics parallel each other: one is to air or gases as the other is to water or liquids. Here are the Merriam-Webster definitions:
Aerodynamics (M-W):
: a branch of dynamics that deals with the motion of air and other gaseous fluids and with the forces acting on bodies in motion relative to such fluidsHydrodynamics (M-W):
: a branch of physics that deals with the motion of fluids and the forces acting on solid bodies immersed in fluids and in motion relative to them
And hydrodynamic has been used to mean the qualities that allow easy and fast motion through water. Here’s an example from the Daily Beast (my emphasis in all quotes):
These suits also made the body shape very smooth and hydrodynamic. Instead of the joint between a man’s body and the waist cord of his swimsuit adding extra drag, there was now a seamless, wrinkle-free, low-resistance outer shell skimming through the water.
Wordnick has a few more examples of usage, some of which are in the sense you want, such as (from the ImpactLab.net):
Like its natural archetype, the AquaPenguin from Festo has a hydrodynamic body contour.
Now, aerodynamic appears in some dictionaries with the relevant sense. See Oxford Learner’s Dictionary or The American Heritage® Science Dictionary (2002) via Dictionary.com:
Designed to reduce or minimize the drag caused by air as an object moves though it or by wind that strikes and flows around an object.
Merriam-Webster has the corresponding noun. On the other hand hydrodynamic does not appear with the precise parallel sense in any dictionary I have access to. I could find only the more general meaning. See several dictionaries in Dictionary.com or Merriam- Webster:
: of, relating to, or involving principles of hydrodynamics
The same is true, however, of aerodynamic in some dictionaries (see Dictionary.com), which give the general definition of aerodynamics — branch of dynamics dealing with gases — and simply list the adjective without defining it explicitly.
As to whether it is wrong to use aerodynamic for an underwater object, aerodynamic and aerodynamics are defined with respect to air or gases in every dictionary I could find, so I don’t think it appropriate to say that, say, a submarine is aerodynamic. Suppose the submarine is hydrodynamic and can be sustained in the air by some external force that does not interfere with its motion. Let’s assume for the sake of argument than the features that allow the submarine to move with minimum drag in water would also allow it to do so in the air — whether this is true or the comparison even makes sense I don’t know; physicists and engineers may want to weigh in on this. Then the statement the submarine is aerodynamic is true; but to my mind it only says that the submarine can move with minimum drag through the air, even though a well-informed person could tell from it that it would also move with minimum drag in water. That’s my two cents anyway; philosophers may want to weigh in on this.
Dictionary definitions of aerodynamic are (usually?) specific to air (boldface mine):
the qualities of an object that affect how easily it is able to move through the air [Merriam–Webster]
having a shape that reduces drag when moving through the air [Wiktionary]
As air and water are both fluids, there are at best subtle differences between a shape optimised for moving through air and one optimised for moving through water (taking compression into account would be something that could cause such differences). Therefore a shark’s fin or a submarine are certainly more aerodynamic than your average shape. Calling them aerodynamic is thus technically correct.
Of course, in your examples, the writer probably does not only want to be technically correct but also allude to the actual property of the shape being optimised to the medium. As laymen (i.e., most people) can hardly distinguish between optimised for air and optimised for water, it is only to be expected that this distinction is lost in colloquial usage – just as decimate is not specifically about destroying one tenth of something anymore.
Consider streamlined:
contoured to reduce resistance to motion through a fluid (as air) [Merriam–Webster]
Designed to offer little resistance to the flow of fluid, especially by having sleek, graceful lines. [Wiktionary]
Consider "low drag."
Drag (Oxford Online)
1.1 The longitudinal retarding force exerted by air or other fluid surrounding a moving object: "the coating reduces aerodynamic drag"
While "streamlined" can focus on the fluid appearance and "aerodynamic" and "hydrodynamic" can be interpreted to focus on what is causing the resistance, "low drag" only speaks to the measurable functional aspects.
Hydrodynamic is the phrase that must be used for underwater dynamics. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of hydrodynamics is:
a branch of physics that deals with the motion of fluids and the forces acting on solid bodies immersed in fluids and in motion relative to them.
Now aerodynamics (Merriam-Webster) is completely related to fluid dynamics in air, and also describes "the qualities of an object that affect how easily it is able to move through the air", which is different from the way hydrodynamics is used.
Aquadynamics is the word which can be used for fluid dynamics especially for dynamics in water, and
aquadynamic (Wikitionary) is used to describe
having a shape that reduces drag when moving through water.
So for your context, aquadynamic is a suitable word to use.
I will offer a counterpoint. Perhaps you're focused too much on the etymology and thus "literal" meaning of the word. Scientifically, as a body moves at high speeds, air and liquids exhibit the same properties. The qualities that make a body "aerodynamic" will also make it "hydrodynamic". Distinguishing between the two is splitting hairs and a lay person is more likely to be familiar with the term aerodynamic. Hence, the use of the term when describing an aquatic body is not incorrect at all.
Actually, liquid and gas dynamics are similar, but not the same. Liquids are generally highly incompressible, and that generates slightly :) different behaviors, for example at high speeds(supersonic, >Mach1 - and even lower), when air/gas tends to compress in front of the moving object. Anyway, "Hydro" comes from "water" like in "maintaining your hydration" for example.
So "Hydrodynamics" is the generally accepted term.
Of course, there are ways to be more catholic than the Pope, as previous answers generously demonstrate.
Doubtless it is hydrodynamic as already pointed out. Bernoulli's Law, airfoil shaping and streamlining, flow losses in mechanics of either continuum have a counterpart in what is commonly termed as a fluid.
