Serenide,
there's an "encyclopedia" located in the Barrow-Downs welcome page... it'll really help you with the different characters (and certain topics) of the Silmarillion. There's also an index of names (I beleive) at the end of the book.
As for the words used... writers use elaborate words in their stories. Like Bruce says - a dictionary is a wonderful thing. I never read a book without my dictionary beside me.
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